China dismisses Missouri's 'absurd' virus lawsuit

"Such abuse of litigation is not conducive to the epidemic response at home in the United States and also runs counter to international cooperation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a daily briefing, adding that China's response is not under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts and it has provided updates on the outbreak to the United States since January 3.

Missouri became the first U.S. state on Tuesday (April 21) to sue the Chinese government over its handling of the coronavirus, saying that China's response to the outbreak that originated in the city of Wuhan brought devastating economic losses to the state.

The civil lawsuit filed in federal court alleges negligence, among other claims.