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Can Missouri Collect 24 Billion Judgement Over Covid-19 Lawsuits Against China

Missouri State House and Capitol Building in Jefferson City, MES. (Photo: ©Dave Newman | Dreamstime.com)

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By Middle Land Staff

March 10, 2025
4:05 pm
Los Angeles, CA

For the first time in the history, the individual state of America, the state of Missouri will have a chance to collect 24 billions in compensation from its lawsuit against the Chinese Communist party for the damages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuit, initiated in 2020 by then Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, accused China of obstructing the production, purchase, and export of critical medical equipment, including PPE during the height of covid-19 pandemic. The court found that China violated state and federal anti-monopoly laws, leading to increased PPE costs and substantial tax revenue losses during the pandemic lockdown, when the businesses were shuttered across the state. It makes a first landmark case of its kind in the U.S. , that a state successfully sued the Chinese government

The lawsuit, initiated in 2020 by then Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, accused China of obstructing the production, purchase, and export of critical medical equipment, including PPE during the height of covid-19 pandemic. The court found that China violated state and federal anti-monopoly laws, leading to increased PPE costs and substantial tax revenue losses during the pandemic lockdown, when the businesses were shuttered across the state.

It makes a first landmark case of its kind in the U.S. , that a state successfully sued the Chinese government for such a large judgement. Missouri’s victory will certainly trigger a score of lawsuits against the Chinese Community Party over the economic damages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey stated that the state intends to collect the judgment by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including farmland within Missouri.
The defendant, the Chinese government sent no one to the final court hearing, and has rejected the ruling, stating it does not recognize the judgment and would take reciprocal countermeasures if its interests are harmed. Though, the CCP is known to hold substantial assets worldwide, including in the United States, but these assets are often held indirectly through complex business entities, making them difficult to target under the U.S. law.
Seizing assets from a foreign government also involves complex international laws and diplomatic relations.
In addition to Trump’s new tariff against Chinese companies, the outcome of this judgement will further deepen two countries’ resentments from trade to fentanyl, from internet security to advance chips, from Taiwan to Asian Pacific military conflicts.

Missouri’s win rewrites the U.S. and China relation into a playbook of foreign policy, that foreign governments will be held accountable for their behaviors in the U.S. soil.