China has filed a lawsuit targeting the State of Missouri, Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said, adding that her office is moving toward seizing Chinese assets in an effort to collect on a multibillion-dollar U.S. court judgment tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, Hanaway secured a landmark $24 billion judgment against the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and related entities, arguing they played a role in “unleashing and worsening” the coronavirus pandemic. Hanaway has said Missouri intends to pursue collection.
“This lawsuit is a stalling tactic and tells me that we have been on the right side of this issue all along,” Hanaway said. “We stand undeterred in our mission to collect on our $24 billion judgment that was lawfully handed down in federal court.”
Why It Matters
China’s $50 billion lawsuit against Missouri escalates a high-profile legal dispute connected to the pandemic, underscoring broader tensions between the United States and China. The clash also raises questions about cross-border litigation, sovereign liability, and how far governments can go in pursuing pandemic-related accountability through the courts.
What To Know
Hanaway said the Chinese government—along with the municipal government of Wuhan, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology—filed suit in the Intermediate People’s Court of Wuhan. The defendants named include the state of Missouri, Governor Mike Kehoe, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt, and former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey.
China is seeking 356.4 billion Chinese yuan (about $50.5 billion), plus legal fees. The filing also requests public apologies in U.S. and Chinese media and seeks permission to pursue additional compensation later.
According to Hanaway’s description, the complaint accuses Missouri and its officials of “fabricating enormous disinformation, and spreading stigmatizing and discriminating slanders” that harmed China’s economic interests and international reputation.
The lawsuit follows Missouri’s successful push for a $24–$25 billion U.S. court judgment earlier in 2025. Missouri’s case, rooted in a lawsuit first filed in 2020 by then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt and later continued by Andrew Bailey, advanced after an appeals court allowed a claim alleging China hoarded personal protective equipment (PPE) to proceed.
China did not participate in the U.S. proceedings, and Missouri’s damages estimate was accepted—resulting in one of the largest judgments imposed on a foreign government in a U.S. court. Missouri has indicated it is now working to collect by targeting Chinese-owned assets in the United States.
What People Are Saying
Hanaway said: “I find it extremely telling that the Chinese blame our great state for ‘belittling the social evaluation’ of The Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
Schmitt, who filed the original lawsuit, said: “I’ve been banned from Communist China, and now I am being sued and targeted by Communist China in a $50 Billion lawfare campaign, and I’ll wear it like a badge of honor. China’s sinister malfeasance during the COVID-19 pandemic led to over a million Americans losing their lives, economic turmoil that rocked our country for years, and an enormous amount of human suffering, and as Missouri Attorney General I filed suit to hold them accountable.”
“Instead of trying to defend its indefensible behavior, Communist China responded with frivolous lawfare, attempting to absolve themselves of all wrongdoing in the early days of the pandemic. This novel lawsuit is factually baseless, legally meritless, and any fake judgment a Chinese court issues in this lawsuit we will easily beat back and keep from being enforced against the people of Missouri or me.
“This is their way of distracting from what the world already knows: China has blood on its hands. China lied about the origins of COVID virus, they tried to cover it up, and they upended the world by creating a global pandemic that resulted in immense human loss. The responsibility lies squarely at their feet. No amount of CCP choreographed lawfare will deter me from standing up for Missourians and the American people.”
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, called Missouri’s lawsuit “a purely politically motivated maneuver.” He added: “China firmly opposes it, will never accept it, and reserves the right to take strong countermeasures.”
What Happens Next
Multiple tracks remain in motion. Missouri is working to certify its federal court judgment, which could help it pursue Chinese-owned assets within U.S. jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the Wuhan lawsuit seeks major financial penalties, public apologies, and the option to pursue further damages against Missouri and the officials named.
