Row between US and China grows as senator accuses Beijing of trying to sabotage Covid-19 vaccine attempts

Katy Clifton7 June 2020

The row between the US and China has grown after a senator accused Beijing of trying to sabotage efforts to find a coronavirus vaccine in the West.

Republican Senator Rick Scott appeared on BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday and claimed evidence of attempted sabotage had come via the US "intelligence community".

He told the BBC: "We have evidence that what China is trying to do is sabotage or slow down our ability to get this vaccine done.

"China does not want us, and England and Europe to do it first. They've decided to be an adversary to America and democracies around the world."

When pushed by Mr Marr, the senator provided no further details of the alleged sabotage attempts.

China has not yet responded to Mr Scott's claims but has recently published a new document on its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the report, Beijing says it briefed the US as early as January 4 on the outbreak.

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