12 April 2020, NIICE Commentary 4058
Bhavna Singh
As China comes out of the shadow of a pandemic, as huge as the COVID-19, which hit normal functioning all across the globe, it equips itself to rescript the narrative of how it dealt with this massive health challenge and how it can still maintain its hold as a rising global power. Despite all the criticism, China’s response has been tepid, China has been so far most effective in containing the virus responsible for creating havoc for several European cities like Italy, Spain and France as well as the US, while the US response has been disjointed and at times chaotic.
The most striking change in the narratives has been the way the western media has reported the Chinese handling of the COVID-19 challenge. It has been far more retrained and polite in reporting the responses of the Chinese authorities at the local as well as national level evident quite clearly in the official press release by the Chinese embassy in France that stated, Chinese methods for containing the COVID-19 pandemic in the mainland have been well-received and seen as a “source of inspiration” by others. The change in narrative is, however, not a turning point for the Chinese as an alteration in the western narrative had been in the offing for some time now. Predictions have already begun, if such a pandemic would bring about a new world order led by China, or some believe, it would end globalisation or usher in a new age of global cooperation.
The plague almost equated to the Black Death (bubonic plague which spread barely 50 years after the Marco Polo’s return from China) has largely been a Malthusian correction to the demographic challenge of the 21st century. It was believed to have been spread by both land and sea, unlike the COVID-19 which has largely spread through droplet transmission resulting to person-to-person transmission. The Virus has severely affected the trade and communication along the New Silk Road, a network of transportation infrastructure financed by China and linking it to Europe, Africa and the rest of Asia converging finally at Italy (where the plague killed up to 75 percent of the population in some areas).
China has seen an opportunity even in this crisis as it continues to ship masks, respirators and even specialist doctors to the country of the Marco Polo. Even European countries (especially Germany) has been sending equipment and airlifting Italian COVID-19 patients to German hospitals. Its efforts have earned China predictable plaudits from countries across the globe and improved China’s image as far as aid donation is concerned paving a way for a ‘health silk road’ connecting Europe and China as envisioned three years back.
The Chinese have proudly showcased their ability to handle such crisis that even several western countries are not able to respond properly to and have touted it as a successful outcome of its political, that is, authoritarian model. The core message has been that China has acted as a ‘responsible big country’ in a leadership role. China has backed its narrative by launching ‘mask diplomacy’ campaign with even Taiwan contributing and outperforming China in dealing with the COVID-19 without resorting to the strict measures outlined by Beijing. Though China has shown some objection to the Taiwanese response as “taking the wrong path of ‘worshipping everything foreign’ and engaging in a confrontation with the Motherland’ along with criticising its involvement with the US in an effort to achieve independence”.
Another aspect of the outbreak of the virus has been the restoration of the damaged ecosystems as the natural world rebounded rapidly once human intervention subsided. The ‘virus spill over risk’ from wildlife to people and vice-versa (most likely from intermediary species like bats) has led biodiversity experts to blame unsanitary and wet markets for the outbreak of the disease which often sell or slaughter wildlife and domesticated animals on-site. It is only after serious considerations that Wuhan was declared free from the lockdown.
Meanwhile, continuous scrutiny of the internet has placed writers under severe stress due to online criticism of their contribution to the spread of a negative international narrative on China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Censorship of Weibo accounts and internet diaries has been in effect to avert media attacks from foreign countries. The US, on the other hand, has attacked the federally funded Voice of America claiming it has promoted Chinese propaganda. The US has also utilised this time and opportunity where China is deterred by this pandemic to bolster its interests in the Indo-Pacific. Recently, the US Marine Corps, General David Berger, released his ‘Force Design 2030’ Plan where it recognised China as a sophisticated naval power and that their primary aim would be to deter aggression instead of acting as parallel land army and crisis-response force. The document has far-reaching implications as even in such difficult times in terms of the world population crisis, the US is still militarily inclined and does not harbour goodwill towards a rising power under distress. This is indicative of what the US role in the Indo-Pacific would be, once this severe heath pandemic subsides.
The US is obviously unrelenting in its intent to counter China’s rise even if it is in terms of health aid or improvement of its international image through a continuous weaving of positive propaganda. China has, similarly, continued to bolster its naval power even in times of crisis which bodes a competitive tendency in the New International Order rather than cooperation based on softer realms. These competing powers should, however, remain cognisant of the fact that a pandemic of such scale and intensity requires them to cooperate on several multidimensional levels, to restrain a deadly resurgence in case of any prompt lifting of lockdowns. This is being borne in mind by other rising powers like India, which have decided to continue the lockdown a little further so as to avoid any regrets later. At the same time scientist worldwide have been trying to decode the genome so as to make the vaccine available at the earliest. A pandemic of such scale has christened unprecedented strength from both the governments as well as nationalities across the affected nations where daily lives have come to a standstill and it is still difficult to foretell how domestic consumption and international trade would come to face with the reality of the pull of Malthusian cycle.
