By: Dr. Klaus W. Larres, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Conversation US — April 20, 2020
A new “red scare” is developing in the United States. While Beijing is busy with a global propaganda crusade following the spread of the coronavirus from China to around the world, foreign policy hawks in Washington are seething.
Donald Trump lashes out at Beijing’s response to the crisis at daily press conferences amid growing reports of anti-Chinese sentiment among Americans. China is turning the crisis into an opportunity — touting its role in the world and praising its governmental system and enormous countrywide surveillance network for successfully battling the coronavirus.
During most of Trump’s years in office, relations between China and the US have been tense, centering largely on the huge American trade deficit with China. In late 2018, the US president unleashed a painful trade war with sharply escalating tariffs, but a provisional trade deal was signed on January 15, 2020. The truce lasted exactly two weeks before Trump announced a travel ban on visitors from China.
Despite a sluggish start which contributed to the initial spread of the virus, China has since trumpeted the success of its policy of locking down entire cities and provinces. Beijing is also praising itself as a benign global hero by donating and selling huge amounts of much-needed face masks, ventilators and other protective gear to countries around the world. Beijing has embarked on a global “charm offensive.”
However, China, like many great powers, has a track record of not following through with its promises of financial help. And some of the face masks and other gear donated to European countries have proven faulty or of inferior quality. The US should build on Beijing and Washington’s haphazard cooperation during the current crisis to improve relations with China in a more lasting way.