Trump said he will look into the legislation that authorizes him to sanction China. (FILE)
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will "certainly" look into the recently introduced legislation that authorizes him to sanction China if it fails to cooperate and provide a full accounting of the events leading to the coronavirus outbreak.
"I respect US Senator Lindsey Graham and I will certainly look at it. The bill to sanction China, I will certainly take a look at it. I have not seen it yet," Trump told reporters at a White House event on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, several Republicans senators including Graham had introduced legislation authorizing the US President to impose sanctions on China if it fails to cooperate and provide a full accounting of the events leading to the coronavirus outbreak.
China on Wednesday strongly protested the bill aimed at imposing sanctions against Beijing over the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This act sponsored by several US lawmakers shows no respect for facts. By pushing for investigations based on the presumption of guilt, it is meant to shirk responsibility for the US fumbling response to China. This is highly immoral. We are firmly opposed to it," Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.
US senators had in a statement on Tuesday said: "Without certification, the president would be authorized to impose a range of sanctions such as asset freezes, travel bans, visa revocations, restricting United States financial institutions from making loans or underwriting to Chinese businesses and prohibiting Chinese firms from being listed on American stock exchange."
According to Johns Hopkins University, there are at least 1,390,746 COVID-19 cases in the US and over 83,000 people have died from the contagion.
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