This archive report was first published on 20 April 2020.
As the world grapples with the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Germany has taken a bold step by demanding compensation from China for the damages incurred.
According to a report by Bild, a German newspaper, China owes Berlin €149 billion (approximately $162 billion) due to the pandemic's economic toll.
The invoice, which has been widely reported, includes €7.2 billion for the German film industry, €1 million per hour for German airline Lufthansa, €27 billion in lost tourism revenue, and €50 billion for German small businesses.
Under the title 'What China Owes Us', Bild calculated that this amounts to €1,784 (approximately $1,550) per person if Germany's GDP falls by 4.2 percent.
China has responded to the invoice, stating that it 'stirs up xenophobia and nationalism'. However, Bild's Editor-in-Chief, Julian Reichelt, fired back, saying, 'We asked in our newspaper Bild whether China should pay for the massive economic damage the coronavirus is inflicting worldwide. Xi Jinping, your government and your scientists had to know long ago that coronavirus is highly infectious, but you left the world in the dark about it.'
Before this, US President Donald Trump had also raised questions about China's role in the spread of the outbreak, accusing the country of underplaying the numbers and keeping other countries in the dark about the reality of the coronavirus.
