Some US states and individuals are suing China over the coronavirus.
Is China immune from such lawsuits due to sovereign immunity, or does such immunity only apply to the US government?
edit: NYT is now saying that the purpose of the lawsuits is to prod Congress to make it easier to sue China.
The Iran lawsuit depended on a statute directed against Iran, not applicable to the Chinese government. The Alien Tort Claims Act, 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.
