The United States (US) has reported more than 1.9 confirmed COVID-19 cases cumulatively with over 109,146 deaths, as of June 4, 2020, both figures are highest in the world. The grim situation necessitates an effective response in the wake of global pandemic. However, White House, in the backdrop of economic melt-down, bipartisan adversity, and diverging public opinions, is in topsy-turvy to shift the blame on others by fabricating a never-ending series of travesties.
Washington accuses China of downplaying the COVID-19 pandemic in its early stages, which cost lives and also hindered the fight against the disease. It also claims that Beijing sought to obfuscate over what was really happening. In contrast, Beijing affirms that the Chinese government has been very open, transparent and responsible in sharing the information with the world, including with the US and many other countries. On the other hand, Chinese claim that it was the US which stood by with folded arms and buried its head in the sand of arrogance and self-conceit, at the onset of the outbreak when it first surfaced in China.
Earlier, senior US officials, instead of showing the slightest sign of morality and empathy, rejoiced over China’s misfortune and thought about taking advantage of it for their benefits. On January 30, 2020, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross suggested that the viral outbreak in China might offer an unexpected benefit for the US economy. It could encourage American manufacturers in China to return to the United States. The statement came in the days when the novel coronavirus paralyzed economic activity in China. The industrial hub of Wuhan and other Chinese cities were under lockdown and new cases and deaths were sky-rocketing.
At present, the pivot of the COVID-19 outbreak has now shifted to the US while China projects the image of a country that has efficaciously combated the virus and is ready to help the world. For instance, Beijing has sent medical team and supplies to countries around the globe, even as the European Union and the US are trying to consolidate their own domestic responses to the global outbreak. This comes at a time when the Trump administration has been facing a lot of censure for its inept handling of the pandemic.
President Trump and his administration is coming directly in the line of fire when it comes to criticism related to mishandling of the threat of COVID-19, many weeks before its arrival on the American shores. Trump, to this day is stubbornly defending himself and his decisions regarding pandemic and seems to be having only one answer to all his critics i.e. China. He has already punished World Health Organization (WHO) by withholding its funds apparently due to the organization’s public praise of Beijing’s response to the outbreak. China has gone under the American Intelligence microscope for its alleged failure in controlling the pandemic. Nevertheless, the mood in Washington would be getting tougher. A close electoral race demands a harder line against China. All this would be done in ambit of a very famous warfare technique known as “diversion”.
In parallel, some American politicians have also been taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic out of their vested interests in the upcoming presidential election. Their hysterical and ludicrous farce and morbid insanity have clearly shown the world the hideous and despicable deals going on in the House of Cards.
“The coronavirus didn’t break America; it revealed what was already broken,” exclaimed George Packer, Staff Writer for the American media outlet, The Atlantic, in an opinion article in the issue of June 2020. Some problems in the American society can find their roots in the Cold War years and they have now reemerged and started to scourge the world as those politicians clinging to the Cold War and zero-sum mindset assumed power, he wrote.
At present, the pivot of the COVID-19 outbreak has now shifted to the US while China projects the image of a country that has efficaciously combated the virus and is ready to help the world
While the Washington-Beijing relationship has become more toxic than ever since their dramatic rapprochement in the 1970s, the two have so far managed to avert a bigger blowup, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the possibility for a further deterioration in ties. Some experts refer to increasingly frosty ties as inception of a new Cold War, but that would be an inaccurate portrayal of the situation on the ground.
The broader context of US-China relations is quite different from the geopolitical landscape during the Cold War between Washington and Moscow. Two key factors provided effective buffers against an intensifying of political and strategic relations between Washington and Beijing. First, unlike the Soviet Union, China was not trying to spread communism around the world. Conflict between Washington and Beijing over the past few years was over the economy and the military, not over ideology. Second, an extensive web of trade and investment ties has anchored the Sino-American relationship, counter-balancing friction in other areas. In contrast, there was little trade and investment between the US and the Soviet Union. Until recently, even officials in the administration of US President Donald Trump tended to rule out the possibility that the strained US-China relationship could degenerate into a comprehensive, full-scale confrontation.
In the face of onslaught by COVID-19, there is a dire need for collective global efforts to jointly fight this war against an unseen but lethal enemy. In such a scenario, if someone play games of thrones in the wake of upcoming elections and propagating self-destructive nationalistic ideologies, then behold, no one would be able to save itself. Human kind should join hands together as one race and combine their efforts in mitigating common threats. The world leaders should evolve and shift their strategic intellect from competition towards global cooperation, where a shared and prosperous future awaits us.
The author is a Development Economist, and serves as a Research Fellow at Center for Research and Security Studies, and Program Officer for Afghan Studies Center, Islamabad. He tweets @saddampide