American’s death raises questions on U.S. response

SHANGHAI — A U.S. citizen died from the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, American officials said Saturday. It was the first known American death from the illness and was likely to add to diplomatic friction over Beijing’s response to the epidemic.

The death is also certain to raise questions over whether the Trump administration and the State Department in particular have taken sufficient action to ensure the safety of Americans in China and to aid in the evacuation of those who want to leave.

In a statement, the State Department took a defensive tone, saying that since Jan. 29, it had evacuated about 850 people, most of them Americans, on five charter flights out of Wuhan.

The agency said it had “no higher priority than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad,” but there are no current plans to conduct additional evacuation flights, even as some Americans in other parts of China have been asking for the U.S. to evacuate them.

Relations between Washington and Beijing have been tense for years over issues including trade, technology and human rights. While Chinese officials have touted the importance of international cooperation to combat the virus, doubts have arisen in recent days about China’s willingness to accept a helping hand — particularly from the United States. Although some Trump administration officials have privately expressed skepticism over China’s handling of the outbreak, President Trump himself lavished praise on Chinese leaders Friday. Trump told reporters in Washington that he had spoken with President Xi Jinping of China late Thursday. “They’re working really hard, and I think they’re doing a very professional job,” he said.

Few details about the American, who died Thursday, were immediately available. According to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, the person was 60 years old and died at a hospital in Wuhan, the metropolis at the center of the epidemic. Two people familiar with the matter said the person was a woman and had underlying health conditions.

Word of the death spread as frustrations over Beijing’s handling of the epidemic mounted within China. The virus has killed at least 812 people — surpassing the SARS fatalities in 200203 — and sickened 37,500 more and spread across the globe.

For more than a month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been offering to send a team of experts to China to observe the outbreak and help if possible. But no invitation has come.

The World Health Organization, which made a similar offer about two weeks ago, appeared to have faced the same cold shoulder. But the agency said Saturday that a team of experts will go to China and that the team’s leader would arrive Monday or Tuesday.

Current and former health officials and diplomats said they believed the reluctance came from China’s top leaders, who do not want the world to think they need outside help.