united-states international covid-19 sovereignty
Is the government of China immune from lawsuits by states and individuals in the US?
<p>Some <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52364797" rel="nofollow noreferrer">US states</a> and <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/china-class-action-lawsuits-covid-19-1498400" rel="nofollow noreferrer">individuals</a> are suing China over the coronavirus.</p>

<p>Is China immune from such lawsuits due to sovereign immunity, or does such immunity only apply to the US government?</p>

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<p><em>edit:</em> NYT is now saying that the purpose of the lawsuits is to prod Congress to make it easier to sue China.</p>

<p>The <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-770_9o6b.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Iran lawsuit</a> depended on a statute directed against Iran, not applicable to the Chinese government. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Tort_Statute" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Alien Tort Claims Act</a>, which gives US federal courts original jurisdiction for torts "committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States", neither of which is likely to describe the allegation against the Chinese government. The Chinese government probably would not entertain such a suit, and US courts do not have jurisdiction. It is also unclear how much US property is owned by the government of the PRC which could be seized: reports simply talk about "owned by the Chinese" without distinguishing government vs. private ownership. </p>
