A group of 14 US lawmakers have introduced a bill in the Congress which demands the government to identify, analyse, and combat alleged efforts made by the Chinese government to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic for nationalistic gains. The ''Preventing China from Exploiting COVID-19 Act'' would mandate the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to investigate the ways in which the Chinese government intends to seize on the COVID-19 pandemic to promote its interests on the national stage and evaluate the risks to the United States.

White House officials have warned against investing in Chinese companies and said that additional sanctions could be on the way in return for China’s role in spreading coronavirus. Officials said investments in China were exposing people to “unnecessary economic risk” and channelling funds into companies “that raise significant national security and humanitarian concerns”, including some that supply the Chinese army.

Air pollution has caused an estimated 49,000 deaths and $23 billion in economic losses in the cities of Beijing and Shanghai alone since Jan. 1, 2020, according to a “clean air counter” launched by environmental groups on Thursday.

According to the article, Peter Navarro, the White House trade adviser, warned that there will be a ‘series of actions’ taken over the next few weeks, which will hold China accountable for how it handled the coronavirus pandemic, and its role in the subsequent damage it has caused to the US. In addition, Navarro accuses China of lying about the virus starting it in November before it spread across the globe.

The article highlights how the current pollution levels in China have shot up and gone beyond the pre pandemic levels. This is a result of polluting industries seeing a spike in activity.

The world’s closest known match to the Covid-19 virus was found seven years ago by Chinese scientists in an abandoned mine where it was linked to deaths caused by a coronavirus-type respiratory illness. An investigation by The Sunday Times has found evidence that China has failed to publicly share this crucial information about the sister virus to Covid-19, even though it is the strongest lead in the hunt for the origin of the pandemic.

The United States has postponed flights for dozens of American diplomats who had planned to return to China later this month, after failing to reach agreement with Beijing over issues including COVID-19 testing and quarantine.

New Coronavirus outbreaks have been found in a Beijing seafood market. Half a million citizens on Saturday were put into lockdown as a result. World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that the coronavirus pandemic is “not even close to being over”. China’s health authorities on Tuesday announced there were 19 new Covid-19 infections in the mainland for June 29.

Donald Trump said he was more and more angry with china over the spread of the virus as US health officials warned they are in control of the pandemic. Trump tweeted ‘As I watch the Pandemic spread its ugly face all across the world, including the tremendous damage it has done to the USA, I become more and more angry at China.’ There is already strong tensions between the two countries over an ongoing trade war.

According to the latest data, there has been a rapid increase in China’s CO2 emissions over the last month since the lockdown – this has been driven by the use of coal and heavy industries, which appear to have bounced back faster than other sectors of the economy.