Trumps feels 'differently' about trade deal with China after Covid-19

Once dubbed as historic by him, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he now feels differently' about the trade deal he signed with China earlier this year.

He said this while once again venting out his frustration with the Beijing leadership, accusing it of letting coronavirus spread, news agency PTI reported.

Till Tuesday, over 92,000 Americans have died and 1.5 million tested positive for coronavirus that has globally killed around 320,000 people.

The US and China had signed a deal in January to end their 22-month-long trade war during which the two countries slapped tit-for-tat tariff hikes on products worth nearly half a trillion USD.

Under it, Beijing agreed to increase its purchase of US goods by $200 billion in 2020-2021.

"I feel differently now about that deal than I did three months ago, Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. We will see what all happens, but it's been a very disappointing situation. Very disappointing thing happened with China because the plague flowed in and that wasn't supposed to happen and it could have been stopped," he said.

Trump said he was very excited when the trade deal with China was signed.

"But once the virus came in, once the plague, as I called it, came in, I said how did they let that happen? And how come it didn't go into other sections of China? Why did they block it from leaving Wuhan? But they didn't block it from going to the rest of the world, including the United States. Why is that? Beijing doesn't have it. Other places don't have it," he said.

Trump also defended his taking antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a line of defence' against coronavirus.

"I think it's worth it as a line of defence and I'll stay on it for a little while longer. I'm just very curious myself, but it seems to be very safe," Trump told reporters at the White House, a day after he disclosed that he has been taking the drug to ward off the deadly infection.

Meanwhile, the US births continued to fall last year, leading to the fewest number of newborns in 35 years.

The decline is the latest sign of a prolonged national baby bust that's been going on for more than a decade. And some experts believe the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the economy will suppress the numbers further.

"This unpredictable environment, and anxiety about the future, is going to make women think twice about having children, said Dr Denise Jamieson, chair of obstetrics and gynaecology at Emory University.

The latest numbers were released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report, which is considered preliminary, is based on a review of more than 99% of birth certificates issued last year.