“There are many who believe we should closely cooperate with China to address the crisis together, but I do not support that. We must defend the values of an open society. At the same time, we have to find ways to cooperate on fighting climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. And that is no easy task,” billionaire George Soros said in an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine.
The 90-year-old billionaire also commented that President Donald Trump’s repeated blame on China for the origin of the pandemic has complicated joint efforts to contain the virus. Nevertheless, Soros himself does not support the U.S. having an overly close relationship with Beijing. Throughout the pandemic crisis, China has faced criticism for a lack of transparency and poor handling of the outbreak in its early stages. However, Beijing has denied all accusations of wrongdoing. Chinese Vice Premier Le Yucheng told NBC in April that China had not hidden or delayed any efforts in addressing the virus.
Soros also criticized President Trump’s leadership style, claiming it leans toward authoritarianism but is constrained by the U.S. Constitution. He argued that Trump does not represent the values of an open and free society.
