CHINA RISES: As the US struggles to combat COVID-19 at home, China leads global response

As the US struggles to combat the coronavirus at home, China is fulfilling its ambitions of becoming a world leader by providing much needed medical support to countries affected by COVID-19. In doing so, Beijing has taken over a role that has been largely filled by the US in recent decades.

From Italy to the Czech Republic, Iraq and even its strategic rival the US, China is providing masks, test kits, ventilators, and more to those in desperate need of medical supplies as countries around the world call for states to work together to address a global crisis. Over the weekend, China reported only one domestically transmitted case of COVID-19. The other 80-some cases came from travelers who recently arrived in the country. China has hailed its stringent control measures as an effective response to the disease and provided technical guidance to more than 100 countries, one ambassador said. Even so, a number of critics, including US officials, have accused Beijing of allowing the virus to spread globally because of an initial poor response.

That criticism is driving China to push back. Chinese officials wish to make their country seen as a responsible leader and benefactor that contributes to a “shared future” with the rest of the world. With many countries unable to manage the virus on their own - and much less support others externally - some governments have put aside previous concerns or critiques about China in order to receive aid. One former Italian official said he didn’t care about ulterior Chinese motives, just as long as his country received the supplies it so badly needed. Lambasting the EU for a lack of support, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said “European solidarity does not exist. That was a fairy tale on paper.” Stressing the direness of the situation, Vučić also said that his country was helpless without Chinese support. His comments did not go unheeded. Afterwards, China sent a team of medical experts to Serbia. The country also received a shipment of 1,000 test kits from a Chinese humanitarian organization on 15 March.

China has also extended support to Iran, the Philippines, Cambodia, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Poland, and Belgium with shipments of protective gear, testing kits, and ventilators. In some cases, the support has been reciprocal. Earlier this year, both the US and the European Union provided tonnes of medical supplies to China when Hubei province was the initial epicenter of the outbreak. But as both the EU and the US struggle in their own efforts to combat the virus since then, it is now China that is leading global response efforts.

The COVID-19 pandemic and China’s response has suggested for some a change in the global order and that the US can no longer be solely relied upon to lead others during crises. Whether that view pans out will be determined by how China and the US continue to respond. In the meantime, the disease promises to be the forefront of America and China’s great-power competition.