China is now reportedly escalating its legal confrontation with the state of Missouri after the state secured a landmark court victory earlier this year over Beijing’s role in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Missouri’s attorney general.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Tuesday that several Chinese entities — including the People’s Government of Wuhan Municipality, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology — have filed a $50 billion lawsuit against the state.
The suit claims Missouri has become an “economic and reputational threat” to the People’s Republic of China as the state moves forward with efforts to collect on a massive federal court judgment.
The lawsuit comes after Missouri won a historic ruling in March stemming from a case first filed in 2020. In that original lawsuit, Missouri sought $25 billion in damages, accusing China of causing and exacerbating the COVID-19 pandemic and hoarding critical medical supplies while the virus spread globally. According to the attorney general’s office, China and several affiliated entities were ultimately ordered to pay Missouri approximately $24.49 billion, plus post-judgment interest.
Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh ruled in Missouri’s favor after determining that China and the other defendants “failed to appear or otherwise answer after being properly served,” resulting in a default judgment. Missouri has since begun efforts to seize Chinese-owned assets in order to enforce the ruling.
Missouri officials have argued that China attempted to evade accountability by using proxy organizations to speak on its behalf during the litigation — a claim Beijing now disputes in its newly filed lawsuit. In that filing, the Chinese plaintiffs accuse Missouri of damaging their international standing and scientific institutions.
The lawsuit alleges Missouri’s actions have harmed the “soft power” of Wuhan, “belittled the social evaluation” of Chinese institutions, and negatively impacted the “productivity and commercialization of scientific and technological achievements” associated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The plaintiffs further claim that Missouri’s litigation strategy constitutes “vexatious litigation” that has defamed their reputation, caused massive economic losses, and endangered China’s “sovereignty, security and development interests.”
China’s lawsuit names the state of Missouri, Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt, and former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey as defendants. Among its demands, the suit calls for public apologies to be issued across major U.S. media outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, YouTube, and others, as well as Chinese state media platforms.
Hanaway flatly rejected those demands and said Missouri will not be intimidated. “I find it extremely telling that the Chinese blame our great state for ‘belittling the social evaluation’ of The Wuhan Institute of Virology,” she said. “This lawsuit is a stalling tactic and tells me that we have been on the right side of this issue all along.”
“We stand undeterred in our mission to collect on our $24 billion judgment that was lawfully handed down in federal court,” Hanaway added.
Sen. Schmitt also blasted the lawsuit, calling it “frivolous lawfare” aimed at rewriting history. “This is their way of distracting from what the world already knows,” Schmitt said. “China has blood on its hands.”
“China lied about the origins of COVID virus, they tried to cover it up, and they upended the world by creating a global pandemic that resulted in immense human loss,” he added.
Hanaway confirmed that Missouri is continuing efforts to obtain certification allowing the state to seize Chinese-owned assets, including real estate, financial interests, and other holdings linked to the defendants, as the legal standoff between Missouri and Beijing intensifies.
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