Wuhan’s $50 Billion Demand Shocks Missouri

Lawsuit document with glasses, pen, and book.

China’s Wuhan government slaps a staggering $50 billion lawsuit on U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt and Missouri, exposing Beijing’s desperate bid to silence American accountability for the COVID-19 catastrophe that devastated families nationwide.

Story Snapshot

Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) defiantly declares he “won’t be apologizing” to Chinese entities suing him over his 2020 lawsuit holding them accountable for COVID-19 harms.
Wuhan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Wuhan Institute of Virology demand $50 billion in a clear retaliatory strike against Missouri’s pursuit of justice.
This tit-for-tat lawfare highlights China’s pattern of using courts to bully critics, underscoring the need for America First resolve under President Trump.
Missouri’s original suit exposed China’s cover-up and PPE hoarding, actions that fueled the pandemic’s global toll on American lives and livelihoods.

Missouri’s Stand Against China’s COVID Cover-Up

In April 2020, then-Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. federal court against the Chinese government, Chinese Communist Party, ministries, and Hubei Province. The suit charged these entities with mismanaging the COVID-19 outbreak originating in Wuhan, suppressing critical information, and hoarding personal protective equipment. Missouri suffered profound health and economic losses from the pandemic, which conservatives have long viewed as a direct result of Beijing’s negligence and deceit. Schmitt’s action sought accountability for harms inflicted on American citizens, echoing nationwide frustrations with globalist failures that prioritized foreign interests over U.S. sovereignty.

China’s Retaliatory $50 Billion Assault

The municipal government of Wuhan, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Wuhan Institute of Virology filed a countersuit in late 2024 in the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court. They target the State of Missouri (via Governor Mike Kehoe), Senator Schmitt, former AG Andrew Bailey (now FBI co-deputy director), and others. Plaintiffs claim $50 billion for alleged reputational and economic damages from Missouri’s litigation and statements accusing China of politicizing the pandemic and slandering its institutions. This outsized demand reveals China’s weaponization of its legal system to punish free speech and deter scrutiny of the lab-leak theory centered on WIV.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6386580676112

Schmitt’s Unyielding Defense

Senator Schmitt, now a key voice in the U.S. Senate under President Trump’s leadership, dismissed the lawsuit as baseless retaliation during a Fox News appearance on The Ingraham Angle. He framed it as proof that his 2020 efforts struck a nerve in Beijing, vowing no apologies for demanding justice. Schmitt’s stance resonates with conservatives weary of leftist appeasement toward China, which enabled unchecked globalism and economic sabotage through inflation and supply chain chaos. This episode bolsters his tough-on-China record, vital as America rejects past overspending and border weaknesses.

Missouri AG communications labeled the suit as China branding the state an “economic and reputational menace,” a tactic unfit for a superpower aspiring to rival U.S. dominance. No U.S. participation in the Chinese proceedings is expected, given jurisdictional limits and sovereign immunity parallels that stalled Missouri’s original case.

Geopolitical Lawfare and American Resilience

This clash exemplifies cross-border lawfare, where China deploys domestic courts for symbolic victories amid strained U.S.-China ties over trade, tech, and COVID narratives. Chinese plaintiffs, former targets of Missouri’s suit, aim to counter lab-leak discussions damaging WIV and CAS’s global standing. For conservatives, it affirms the perils of engaging adversarial regimes, reinforcing President Trump’s America First policies that prioritize national security, family protections, and constitutional liberties against foreign overreach.

Sen Eric Schmitt says he ‘won’t be apologizing’ as China hits him with $50B lawsuit https://t.co/oEhMl1jmD7 #FoxNews

— Laura Marklin (@LauraMarklin) December 17, 2025

Short-term, the suit elevates Schmitt’s profile among patriotic voters, hardening anti-China rhetoric without practical enforcement risks to Missouri. Long-term, it signals escalating tensions, potentially chilling U.S.-China scientific ties while validating demands for transparency on pandemic origins. Under Trump’s renewed mandate, such provocations underscore the urgency of limited government and robust defenses against communist aggression.