Donald Trump has escalated the war of words with China, saying he could cut off all links with the country.

And of his previously much vaunted ‘relationship’ with President Xi Jinping, he now says ‘I don’t want to speak to him'. 

The US president said he was very disappointed with China’s failure to contain Covid-19 in an interview with Fox Business news, saying: “They should have never let this happen.

“So I make a great trade deal and now I say this doesn’t feel the same to me. The ink was barely dry and the plague came over. And it doesn’t feel the same to me.”

At the start of the year the two countries had drawn up a trade deal but Trump's comments have now cast doubt over the agreement.

The President was also asked what sanctions he would take against China, he said: “There are many things we could do … We could cut off the whole relationship. Now, if you did, what would happen? You’d save $500 billion."

The Chinese state media hit back at Trump's suggestion of a breakdown in the relationship, describing calls to cut ties as ‘lunacy’.

The Global Times wrote: “Trump turns up election strategy nonsense with China ‘cut-off’ threat.

“The very idea should not come as a surprise for those who remember when Trump speculated if disinfectants could be used on humans ‘by injection’ to wipe out the novel coronavirus.

“Such lunacy is a clear byproduct, first and foremost, of the proverbial anxiety that the US has suffered from since China began its global ascension."

While another editorial said: “Trump seems insane right now or may have some psychological problems."

This is one of the first instances China has explicitly criticised Trump. In the past, representatives of the Chinese government have referred to ‘certain US politicians’ but never named the President himself.

The tension between the US and China has heated up over the pandemic with Trump blaming the country for the outbreak.

He has suggested they covered up the amount of cases they had, as well as saying the virus began in a lab in Wuhan.

And while the President no longer uses this vernacular, at the start of the year he continuously referred to the disease as the ‘Chinese virus’.

The bubbling row between the two countries comes after Friday marked one month with no coronavirus deaths for China and only four new cases in 24 hours.

By contrast, the US has suffered 1,754 deaths in the last day to bring its total death toll to 85,813, according to Johns Hopkins University.