Readers are asking @FactCheck about an article on the @Daily_Express site which claims: "Germany sends China £130billion bill for 'coronavirus damages' – sparks fury in Beijing." The headline is misleading (short thread).

The German state hasn't done anything of the kind. As the Express article admits, this refers to an opinion piece written (on Wednesday) by the editor of Bild, German's biggest newspaper. https://www.bild.de/bild-plus/politik/ausland/politik-ausland/bild-praesentiert-die-corona-rechnung-was-china-uns-jetzt-schon-schuldet-70044300,view=conversionToLogin.bild.html

The Express reports this as: "Berlin called out Beijing's responsibility for the global pandemic and even issued a £130bn invoice." Normally when journalists talk about "Germany" or "Berlin" doing something, they are talking about the government, not a newspaper.

In fact, German's foreign minister Heiko Maas told Bild the idea that China would pay compensation to other countries was "illusory": https://www.bild.de/video/clip/news/maas-zum-kampf-gegen-corona-illusorisch-das-geld-von-china-einzutreiben-70086882-70093826,auto=true.bild.html