China began 2020 in a dire situation, having been the source of the coronavirus and therefore its first major victim. The country struggled at the beginning with containing the virus, but has since used its totalitarian state and one-minded unity to utilize extreme testing measures and mitigate the spread.
The country is now attempting to take advantage of their position by donating masks and other equipment to other nations in need (4 billion masks)! This appears suspicious, but in reality they are filling the hole of a power vacuum. The leader of the free world, President Trump, appears to have no interest in leading a global response to the virus. China has taken his place in steed, a continuation of what has occured at global summits during Trump's time in office.
While China's role in virus spreading is still muddled, it is clear they are taking every opportunity they can to play the "savior" as much as possible. So far, everyone else has let them.
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/04/16/is-china-winning
4 comments:
I definitely agree that China is doing their best to fix their mistake in being the source of the virus. The fact that they have donated smooch to help the rest of the world shows their intentions, at least on the surface as far as we know. Trump, in fact, does not appear to have interest like you said in leading a global response to the virus and I think that during this type of time in the world, yes, the economy is important, but actions of the people speak volumes to what type of intentions we have.
China is definitely attempting to rebuild their reputation with the world, although for many businesses and internationally I think that this will be difficult. I think businesses around the world may have their opinions changed on China and be less likely to commit foreign investment into the country, even if international politicians seek better relationships.
I defiantly don't think that China is going to gain much from playing the savoir because as we saw in the US, and I'm sure as well in other countries to an extent, that rampant xenophobia and mixed emotions put them in a negative spotlight. At the best they are going to recover, but other then that, I don't see them gaining much from it.
I do not think China is in any position to "rebuild their reputation" at this point. It is indisputable that they didn't take the necessary actions to contain the virus and warn the world of the danger of the virus through data manipulation and concealment. Regardless of the source of the virus, China did not initially do their part, and the world, not just the US, is suffering as a direct result of their actions, or better yet, their lack there of.
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