China’s Xi sends sympathy message to Trump over infection

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People watch a large screen showing President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during a news report from Chinese state television about Trump testing positive for the coronavirus in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. Trump said early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, a stunning announcement that plunges the country deeper into uncertainty just a month before the presidential election. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

 
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BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of sympathy Saturday to U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump following their coronavirus diagnosis, state TV reported.

“My wife, Peng Liyuan, and I express our sympathies to you and your wife and wish you a fast recovery,” state TV on its website cited the message as saying.

Chinese-U.S. relations have tumbled to their lowest point in decades amid disputes over trade, technology, security, Beijing’s tightening of control over Hong Kong and complaints about abuses in China’s Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Trump has blamed China, where the coronavirus outbreak began in December, of mishandling the outbreak and allowing it to spread.