Was China sent a bill for £130 billion by Germany for damages related to the Coronavirus pandemic?
An article published by the UK based digital news outlet, the Express which is under the Daily Express, a tabloid newspaper reads that Germany has apparently issued a bill for £130 billion to China as a part of the damages brought about by the novel Coronavirus which was first reported from the country. The headline read- “Germany sends China £130billion bill for ‘coronavirus damages’ – sparks fury in Beijing”.
The archived article can be found here.
The headline/article has since then been published in a number of Indian Media Outlets such Outlook, Economic Times, Punjab Kesari and India TV.
Outlook
The article has been published with inputs from IANS which is an Indian private news agency.
The link to the article can be found here and the archived article can be found here.
India TV
The link to the article can be found here and the archived article can be found here.
Punjab Kesari
The link to the article can be found here and the archived article can be found here.
Economic Times
The article has been published with inputs from IANS.
The link to the article can be found here and the archived article can be found here.
Truth
It wasn’t by the country but a Newspaper
The headline as initially published by the Express which has since then been amended by the portal was misleading in its tone. The article indicates that the country had issued the bill when in reality, the leading tabloid newspaper of Germany, Bild had issued an estimate cost of the damages the pandemic has so far inflicted on the country.
An article published on the 16th of April in Bild with the headline, “Sie gefährden die ganze Welt“ which translates into “You endanger the world”, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper accused Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping in an open letter for putting the reputation of his country ahead of the lives of the world according to reports from The Taiwan News. The link for the Bild article can be found here while that of The Taiwan News can be found here.
The Express later updated their headline amidst widespread scrutiny and currently has the following headline:
The article can be found here.
A screenshot of the bill was telecasted by DW news which is a global English news and information channel. The screenshot is as follows:
The highlighted lines on the above mock bill states the following: £24 billion loss of revenue in tourism, £7.2 billion loss of revenue to the film industry, £1 million per hour loss faced by German airline Lufthansa and £50 billion loss for small businesses.
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