COVID-19 impact on global politics: US, China compete for leadership

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the weakness of big global powers and America’s inability to provide the leadership for an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ fight against COVID-19.

China is hoping to fill the vacuum and fly in supplies to every nation in desperate need. But does the international community trust China? Largely not. It is difficult to say who will be the power players in the post-coronavirus world. Much will also depend on how quickly the world recovers from the economic downturn which is already in evidence. The US elections will play a role. If Joe Biden is able to defeat Donald Trump, the US will once again come to the fore. The European Union (EU) is also in deep crisis. Will regional satraps emerge? No one can say as of now.

But today, big powers are on the line of fire. China, the second-largest economy in the world, is hoping to replace America as the world’s number-one power. In the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping clearly laid out his goals. China is confident enough now to offer the world an alternative to western capitalism. He termed this ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics.’ The belt and road initiative, President Xi’s pet project, is a means to promote and project Chinese power across Asia and Europe. But now, the focus is no longer on infrastructure projects.

China is the nation from where the coronavirus pandemic originated and the country had tried to play down the enormity of the disease in its initial stages. Accusations against China are aplenty and US President Donald Trump has even warned it of consequences if proven that it had knowingly let loose the virus on an unsuspecting world.

COVID-19 had its origins in the Chinese city of Wuhan and the country has been accused of trying to hide the magnitude of the disease when it was first reported in December last year. In a country like China, known for its censorship of the media, the news wouldn’t have leaked unless whistleblower Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old doctor working in a Wuhan hospital, had warned a fellow medic group about the disease on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The whistleblower later succumbed to the infection, creating a storm  among Chinese citizens. China’s death toll at 4,632, is relatively lower than several other countries, but nobody believes the government figures.

US failed to lead

The US, which under Donald Trump’s policy of ‘America First’ has been drawing protectionist walls around itself, singularly failed to lead the world against the pandemic. Generally, in a situation like this, when the entire global community faces a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, America, with its vast resources, should be leading the response to the pandemic. But President Trump, busy with his re-election campaign, has failed to respond to the crisis or take effective measures in his own country to contain the spread of the infection.

According to reports, US intelligence agencies had warned the president of the approaching health crisis. On January 20, the first coronavirus case in the US was reported from Washington State. South Korea also reported its first case on the same day. Seoul’s response was to take quick action. Testing was the answer. Social distance was maintained but no lockdown was announced. On the other hand, Trump gave little attention to Washington State.

So, when the pandemic hit the US with full force, Washington was not prepared. In the initial days, the president was not ready to acknowledge that it was a major health crisis. Instead, taking a cue from his favourite Fox News anchors, he tried to paint it as a ploy by the Democrats to harm the US economy by calling for a shutdown. The president soon changed his views as he realised the gravity of the disease. The country neither had personal protection equipment nor ventilators necessary for treating patients. The death toll in America due to the virus is the highest at 38,664. This figure will continue to grow though there are signs that the virus is flattening out in New York.

Meanwhile, the EU is also in crisis. With major countries like Italy, Spain, France, and Germany badly affected, it will be a major test for the EU to pull through the economic downturn that will follow. With the major European economies scrambling to help their own citizens, they have little time or energy left to think of helping the smaller ones. French President Emmanuel Macron is well aware of the danger that the pandemic has posed for EU unity.

China’s damage-control mode

Having received a lot of flak for its late reporting of COVID-19, China is now trying to revive its damaged reputation. This PR exercise is not just for the outside world but more important for Chinese citizens. There has been much criticism of the handling of the pandemic in Wuhan. Health diplomacy will serve both purposes — revive China’s flagging image internationally and reassure the domestic constituency.

With the virus largely in control and lockdown lifted in Wuhan, China is now going out of its way to begin supplying masks, gloves, ventilators to the world. Since Italy was declared the epicentre for the virus in mid-March, China has been sending out planeloads of medical equipment along with teams of doctors to Rome. Spain too has received PPEs. Other European countries like Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic, France, Austria and Serbia too have received substantial medical assistance from China.

The US is also receiving supplies from China. So is India. Despite fears of an economic turndown and predictions of a 6 per cent shrinking of China’s economy, the country is going out of its way to help the world. Yet, suspicion of China remains. All kinds of conspiracy theories are doing the rounds. One theory is that the virus was being prepared in a secret facility in Wuhan as part of a germ warfare program and that the genie escaped from the laboratory.

US’ mishandling of pandemic

President Trump, under attack for mishandling the pandemic, is making good use of the conspiracy theories. With presidential elections slated for November, the Trump camp is using everything in its power to deflect the attack on his incompetence. Instead, he has been pointing a finger at China. He began with calling the virus, the ‘Chinese virus.’

Next, he charged the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus with shielding the Chinese and declaring COVID-19 a pandemic much too late. While most people in the US are outraged that at a time of a worldwide health crisis, the President is depriving the WHO of the much needed financial support, Trump’s base is pleased.

Related News: China sends 24 planeloads of COVID-19 medical items, 20 more to come

It is worth recalling that during his previous election campaign in 2016, Trump indulged in massive China bashing. Climate change was created by China to take away American jobs, he had claimed. China-bashing plays well with his audience and Trump is going to make use of this till the elections are done.

At the moment, there are no signs of any regional powers emerging. India is struggling though it has tried to take a leadership role within the SAARC. The pandemic has shown both China and the US in bad light, and no one has yet emerged as a potential global leader.

(Senior journalist who has worked for several national newspapers, specialising in foreign affairs.)