CHINA
The Virus and Goliath
Anti-China sentiment is reaching levels not seen since the crackdown on pro-democracy activists on Tiananmen Square in 1989, according to an internal Chinese report
reviewed by Reuters. Chinese leaders are even afraid that the current climate is leading to a military confrontation with the US.
The cause of the plunge in support is obvious. Folks around the globe blame Chinese leaders for the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a development that could reorient international relations worldwide for a generation.
Countries that were formerly open to expanding their diplomatic and economic relationship with China are having second thoughts, while China is retaliating against those setbacks, the New York Times
wrote.
Relations with the US are especially bad. President Donald Trump, who already believed China unfairly undermined American business, blames China for the lockdowns that have resulted in millions of unemployed Americans. Many are openly discussing the potential for a new Cold War, the South China Morning Post
reported.
Some say it has already started.
On Wednesday, for example, the US House of Representatives almost unanimously passed legislation calling for sanctions against Chinese officials for the detention and torture of Uighur Muslims in the country’s western region of Xinjiang, CNBC
reported.
The timing is interesting – China’s treatment of the Uighurs is not a new development.
Meanwhile, the vote came just hours after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo targeted Beijing over its efforts to clamp down on dissent in Hong Kong, announcing that the State Department no longer viewed the island as autonomous. This means that Hong Kong no longer merits being treated differently from the mainland under US law, and could change Hong Kong’s preferential trade hub status. He also expressed support for protesters there.
That follows
moves this month to place sanctions on Chinese banks and a measure to force Chinese companies on the American stock exchanges to become more transparent, or de-list.
Meanwhile, others are jockeying to deal with the new environment.
Defenders of Taiwan, like Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin,
argued that the pandemic shows why the US should embrace the democratic island that leaders in Beijing view as a breakaway Chinese province.
British officials are moving to shorten their contract with Chinese tech giant Huawei to build a 5G telecommunications network in their country, the Financial Times
reported Saturday. The idea seemed wise when Britain was looking for new trading opportunities amid the debate about how to leave the European Union. Now China is not such an attractive partner.
Countries around the world are
rethinking their supply chains to move away from China. And there are many waiting in the wings ready to jump at the opportunity.
Indian Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently
told the BBC that said China’s fall from grace could be a “blessing in disguise” for his country’s efforts to attract manufacturing away from the world’s most populous country.
Earlier this month, India moved to offer land to lure foreign businesses already eying an exit from China, Bloomberg
reported. Land has been one of the main hurdles for foreign investment in India, with companies required to acquire land on their own and negotiate directly with the owners of small holdings.
Chinese leaders are not taking such moves lying down, though, Voice of America
said.
They pressured the EU to
soften a report that was critical of the country, for example, while belittling and mocking European leaders for their handling of the pandemic – the latter was to appeal to a Chinese audience.
After Australia called for an inquiry into the origin and transmission of the virus, China slapped tariffs on Australian barley,
according to the Associated Press. That came after China banned imports of Australian beef ostensibly over labeling issues.
And after African officials also called for an inquiry into the pandemic and African ambassadors to China demanded explanations as to why Africans expatriates in the country faced mistreatment, President Xi Jinping detailed a massive aid package for developing countries. The move was designed to cement China’s ties to African countries that provide crucial resources for the Chinese economy, CNN
explained.
Even so, Chinese bullying and money might not be enough, say analysts, who note that anti-Chinese sentiment was rising in Europe, Asia and Africa even before the pandemic hit.
If China loses its diplomatic and economic might in the near future, say analysts, it will be shocking: Because no one ever thought a virus could bring down such a mighty giant.
