China promised it would not restrict exports of medical supplies hours after the New York Post reported the Trump administration was weighing legal action against Beijing for such actions, reports the South China Morning Post.
"We will not forget that at the beginning of the fight against the epidemic, many countries gave us a helping hand," Jiang Fan, from the department of foreign trade at the Ministry of Commerce, said at a press conference Sunday.
"Therefore, when the situation in China is getting better and overseas epidemic conditions are accelerating, we are willing to make relevant efforts on the basis of epidemic prevention and control to provide support and assistance . . . China does not and will not restrict the export of medical supplies," Jiang said.
The Trump administration threatened legal action against China after allegations surfaced that Beijing is hoarding medical supplies while the coronavirus crisis rages.
According to the Post, 3M and Honeywell — two American companies that make personal protective equipment (PPE) in China — informed the White House that China would not allow them to export the products they made there.
Trump campaign senior legal adviser Jenna Ellis told the Post the White House might push back at China using legal channels.
"In criminal law, compare this to the levels that we have for murder," Ellis said.
"People are dying. When you have intentional, cold-blooded premeditated action like you have with China, this would be considered first-degree murder."
The White House could either file a formal complaint with the European Court of Human Rights or address the allegations at the United Nations, the Post reported.
Supplies such as PPE, which include gloves, masks, and gowns, are running low at hospitals across the U.S. amid the coronavirus pandemic that, as of Sunday evening, had killed more than 9,600 Americans and infected more than 336,000.
Worldwide, there have been nearly 1.3 million cases and nearly 70,000 deaths.
Solange Reyner contributed to this story.
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