CHINA AND THE US CLASH OVER COVID-19

Since its outbreak in December, the coronavirus has become the latest battleground in America and China’s great power competition. From political statements to the use of armed forces to stop the spread, the pandemic is further straining relations already torn by a myriad of other issues. Even as both sides express the need to put aside differences and cooperate to address the crisis, officials are also shifting blame for mismanagement and inadequate response.

A number of US officials have provoked Chinese ire by blaming its government for the spread of the virus. Accusing the Chinese government of not providing sufficient information about the virus, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton in February suggested a conspiracy theory alleging that the virus originated in a biochemical lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the initial outbreak. Aside from conspiracy theories, US officials’ use of terms like “Wuhan virus” and “Chinese virus” to describe the coronavirus has also angered Beijing. In a backlash last week, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian pushed another conspiracy theory on Twitter suggesting that the virus actually originated in the US and spread to China when American service members visited Wuhan for the Military World Games in October. Other Chinese officials also promoted the conspiracy, while some criticized the US government for its response to the pandemic.

Aside from political disputes, the competition between the US and China over the virus has played out in other domains too. As the Chinese government brings the virus under control at home, it’s building upon its success by sending supplies and personnel abroad to help other affected countries. On 11 March, China sent a team of doctors and much needed medical equipment to Italy, the hardest hit country in Europe and second to China worldwide. Five days later, a Chinese billionaire loaded a cargo plane with 500,000 testing kits and 1 million masks for the US.

China’s military has also been active in combating the spread of the virus. Since January, the government has sent 10,000 personnel to Hubei province, in which Wuhan is located, to curb its spread. One of the military’s top medical professionals is also leading efforts to understand the virus and develop a cure. But by deploying forces to Hubei, China has had to cancel large-scale military exercises, both to reassign personnel and resources and to prevent troops from contracting the virus. The US has also suspended military exercises to protect its troops. Nonetheless, China continues to conduct operations in the East and South China Seas, where it is in ongoing territorial disputes with several of its neighbors. The US, too, has carried on with naval operations in the region. The operations have contributed to increased frustration in Beijing. As Chinese naval forces concluded a 41-day-exercise in the Western Pacific Ocean at the end of February, one of its Type 052D destroyers aimed a laser at a US surveillance aircraft.

In a relationship already strained over issues ranging from human rights to national security, the coronavirus has opened up yet another contention point between the US and China. Despite earlier statements urging otherwise, both sides have been unable to work together to address the issue. Instead, the virus’ ongoing outbreak seems to be driving the two powers further apart.