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3d ago

Wuhan Sues Missouri for $50.5 Billion as State Presses $24 Billion COVID Judgment

Attention shifts to whether Missouri can certify its $24 billion judgment to target Chinese‑owned assets.

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Security personnel stand guard outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan as members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus make a visit to the institute in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on February 3, 2021. HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty

Overview

  • The municipal government of Wuhan, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology filed a complaint in the Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court naming Missouri, Sen. Eric Schmitt, and former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey as defendants.
  • Plaintiffs seek 356.4 billion yuan—about $50.5 billion—plus legal fees, future claims, and public apologies on major U.S. and Chinese media platforms.
  • Missouri says it submitted judgment-service packets to the U.S. State Department in November and plans to seek federal court certification to pursue Chinese-owned assets once diplomatic service is confirmed.
  • China declined to appear in the U.S. case that produced a roughly $24 billion default judgment and now rejects the ruling as politically motivated, reserving the right to take countermeasures.
  • Attorney General Catherine Hanaway calls the Wuhan filing a stalling tactic, Sen. Schmitt says he will not apologize, and legal experts note significant uncertainty about enforcing either side’s court awards.