International Relations
On Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry announced that it is revoking the press credentials of American journalists from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, barring them from working in China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Further, Beijing has also declared five US media outlets–Voice of America, The Times, The Journal, The Post, and Time magazine as government functionaries. These moves are in retaliation to similar actions by the Trump organization against Chinese state-owned news agencies in the US. [SCMP]
On Friday, the US summoned China’s ambassador after foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted the “ridiculous” suggestion that the US military started the coronavirus pandemic. Zhao also suggested that “patient zero” in the global pandemic may have come from the US, not Wuhan. US officials describe these acts as Chinese attempts to spread conspiracy theories in order to deflect criticism. [Asia Times]
China delivered medical supplies, including masks and respirators, to help Italy deal with its growing Covid-19 crisis. On Thursday, a team of nine Chinese medical workers arrived in Italy with about 30 metric tons of equipment. China has been praised against a backdrop of growing anti-EU in sentiment in Italy due to a perceived lack of assistance from its European neighbours. [Asia Times]
Health
Ten new coronavirus cases were confirmed in Hong Kong on Tuesday, the city’s largest daily increase, taking its total to 167. At least eight of these patients have a travel history that has worried officials that public hospitals will become overburdened due to a rise in imported cases. [SCMP]
On Monday, Wuhan reported just four new infections. After the situation in Wuhan and the rest of Hubei province substantially improved over recent weeks, the country’s three largest urban centers, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have become the new battlefields in the campaign against the novel coronavirus. [Asia Times]
Society
Kozo Tashima, head of Japan Football Association and deputy head of Japan's Olympic committee, tested positive for the coronavirus. This development, combined with the results of a poll conducted in Japan on Monday, in which 70% of respondents said they thought the Olympics could not go ahead as planned, has cast doubt over the future of Tokyo's summer Olympics. [SCMP]
Business & Finance
The impact of the coronavirus on China's economy grows as industrial production, retail sales and investment all contracted in the first two months of the year. Recent data suggests that industrial production for January and February shrank by 13.5%, the first contraction in about 30 years, while retail sales plummeted 20.5% on-year during the same period. [Asia Times]
Image Source: Morning Star
