Billionaire and philanthropist George Soros has voiced his thoughts on relations between the United States and China amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In his recent interview with the German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine, Soros remarked that while the current tensions between Beijing and Washington might complicate efforts to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, closer relations between the two countries is probably not something he'd advise.
"There are a lot of people who say we should be working very closely with China (on tackling the crisis) — but I am not in favor of doing that," he said as quoted by CNBC. "We must protect our democratic open society. At the same time, we must find a way to cooperate on fighting climate change and the novel coronavirus. That won't be easy."
Claiming that “many well-educated Chinese are deeply angry at the party leadership for hiding the coronavirus for so long", Soros went on to criticize the political reforms enacted by China's President Xi Jinping.
"When Xi abolished term limits and named himself, in essence, president for life, he destroyed the political future of the most important and ambitious men in a very narrow and competitive elite. It was a big mistake on his part. So, yes, he is very strong in a way, but at the same time extremely weak, and now perhaps vulnerable", he remarked.
The philanthropist also took an opportunity to deliver a verbal broadside to US President Donald Trump who, according to him, "would like to be a dictator".
"But he cannot be one because there is a Constitution in the United States that people still respect, and it will prevent him from doing certain things — that doesn't mean he will not try because he is literally fighting for his political survival", he explained.
At the same time, Soros said he put his faith in Trump "to destroy himself", and so far, the US president has exceeded his "wildest expectations".
