France summons Chinese ambassador for defaming fight against Covid-19

According to the Daily Mail, this is the latest attack from China to smear the efforts of Western countries, including France, in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, an article on the website of the Chinese Embassy titled: “Recovering the distorted truth - Observations of a Chinese diplomat in Paris” was published on Sunday (April 12). The anonymous article questioned whether Western governments would let the elderly starve to death in nursing homes and whether governments were also ready for so-called “herd immunity”. The article also strongly criticized the response of Western countries in handling the epidemic crisis slowly.

French President Emmanuel Macron (right) and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (left) visit the Crisis and Assistance Center at the French Foreign Ministry on April 3, 2020. Photo: AFP-Getty

The Chinese article was published shortly after the French government ordered millions of masks from Beijing to address a severe shortage in the country.

In his statement, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stated that he "disagrees with the opinions and views of the Chinese side on the Covid-19 epidemic. At the same time, these comments are not in line with the current bilateral relationship between the two countries."

According to the Daily Mail, the Chinese Embassy in France has led a media campaign in recent weeks to praise Beijing's success in containing the epidemic, while criticizing the handling of the epidemic crisis in Western countries - including France. Immediately, these articles were strongly criticized, causing anger throughout the entire French political and social system.

The article also condemned the “snatching” of medical equipment and masks between countries, and quoted a German minister calling it “modern-day piracy.” According to the Daily Mail, China has recently received praise from some European countries for its support of medical equipment. However, some other opinions have accused Beijing of aiming more at propaganda. Some experts have also accused Beijing of not being transparent early on, weakening the global response to the pandemic.

In response to this, today, Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye published another article on the embassy website with a contrasting tone, saying: “The French government, business community and the French public in general are very friendly to China”. And that, “some French journalists, media and Chinese experts sometimes have some dissenting voices”.

In response, French Foreign Minister Le Drian said: “There is no room for politicians to comment and France is making strong efforts to support solidarity and international cooperation in the current fight against the Covid-19 pandemic”./.