As relations between the U.S. and China grow increasingly fraught, Beijing is trying out ridicule to press its case. China's state-run news agency Xinhua has released a short animation titled "Once Upon a Virus," mocking the U.S.
response to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The video features conspicuously Lego-like figures representing the two countries and exchanging taunts — with the Chinese figure delivering all the best zingers (watch the video below).
Washington and Beijing continue to spar over the origins of the coronavirus outbreak, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and gradually spread to become the 21st century's first pandemic.