Sen. Lindsey Graham warned U.S. trade with China will “change” if Beijing does not crack down on its “gross” wet markets, which sell bats, cats, and dogs for human consumption.
Chinese meat markets have reportedly opened back up for business after Beijing ordered a ban on the sale of wild animals such as bats following reports they may have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus.
“What can China do to help the world? Shut those markets down,” the South Carolina Republican said on Fox & Friends Monday.
“I’m going to write a letter to the Chinese ambassador saying, ‘If you don’t shut those wet markets down, our trading relationship is going to change,’” he added.
The coronavirus was first detected in the city of Wuhan as early as December, but according to the Daily Mail, Chinese locals view the pandemic as a solved issue in the country and have gone back to living as it was before the virus, including selling wild animals.
“I’m going to write a letter to the World Health Organization and to the Chinese ambassador asking them to close the Chinese wet markets,” Graham said during the segment. “These are open-air markets where they sell monkey; they sell bat. We think this whole thing started from the transmission from a bat to a human.”
“I don’t think this [coronavirus] came from a Chinese military lab, but these wet markets are gross, they’re just absolutely disgusting, selling exotic animals that transmit viruses from animals to human beings,” Graham said. “Those things need to shut down.”
