China sues after Missouri seeks to collect on $25 billion court judgment, prosecutor says
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's top prosecutor said China is suing after the state pressed federal officials for help collecting on a roughly $25 billion court judgment related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said Tuesday in a news release that China is demanding a public apology from the state in a complaint filed in the Intermediate People’s Court of Wuhan. The Chinese government also is seeking compensation equivalent to $50.5 billion plus legal fees and the right to claim further compensation.
"This lawsuit is a stalling tactic and tells me that we have been on the right side of this issue all along,” Hanaway said in the news release.
At issue is a lawsuit Missouri filed alleging that China hoarded personal protective equipment during the early months of the pandemic, harming the state and its residents. A federal judge ruled for Missouri earlier this year after China declined to participate in the trial. It called the lawsuit “ very absurd ” when it was filed in 2020.
Last month, Missouri escalated its efforts to collect, asking the U.S. State Department to formally notify China that the state intends to pursue assets with full or partial Chinese government ownership to satisfy the judgment.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in an emailed statement Wednesday that he wasn’t familiar with the specifics of the new case. But he said the earlier Missouri lawsuit was “a purely politically motivated maneuver.”
