President Donald Trump says he thinks it is possible China encouraged the international spread of the coronavirus as a way to destabilize competing economies.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, which posted a transcript of the conversation on Thursday, Trump noted China "doesn't report its testing," but it appears the virus "seems to have been contained in China."
"And why was it contained in China? But the Chinese people that were infected go to Europe and go all over the world?" he asked, adding, "that's what I'm trying to find out."
"There is a very good chance it was incompetence," he added. "There was a very good chance it was a mistake. And there's a chance that it was intentional."
When asked if he thought the intentional spread was "a lesser chance," Trump agreed: "Yeah I think so, because I don't think they would do that. But you never know. But it has had an impact."
When pressed if that impact would be "to spread the economic consequences around the globe," Trump replied, "Correct."
"They're saying, 'man, we're in a mess; the United States is killing us,'" he added. "Don't forget, my economy during the last year and a half was blowing them away. And the reason is the tariffs."
He also said he had no intelligence that said an intentional spread was China's strategy.
"It's my sense that could have happened," he said. "I hope not. And I hope we'll be able to find it out."
China's economy shrunk 6.8% during the first quarter because of shutdowns related to the pandemic; the United States saw a GDP contraction of 4.8% during the same period, the Journal reported.
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