{"id":55443,"date":"2020-04-30T11:01:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T01:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=55443"},"modified":"2020-04-30T11:01:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T01:01:37","slug":"covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Having already claimed<\/a> more than 227,000 lives and sent the global economy towards its deepest slump since the Great Depression, the Covid-19 crisis is bound to reshape geopolitics. While the contours of the post-pandemic order remain to be seen, one thing seems certain: far from normalising their relationship, the United States and China are likely to become increasingly estranged\u2014and increasingly hostile towards each other.<\/p>\n

Even before the current crisis erupted, the Sino-American relationship was on life support. The outbreak may have sounded its death knell. In particular, evidence that local Chinese authorities initially suppressed information about the new coronavirus, together with the severe disruption of global supply chains caused by China\u2019s sudden nationwide lockdown, highlighted for most Americans two sources of severe vulnerability stemming from the bilateral relationship.<\/p>\n

The first is China\u2019s repressive political system. While Americans have long been aware of the ideological chasm between their country\u2019s system of government and China\u2019s, to most it was largely an abstraction. Stories about the forcible detainment of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang, the repression and abuse of Tibetans and the persecution of political dissidents were harrowing, but distant. For many, they were merely evidence of the US system\u2019s superiority.<\/p>\n

The Covid-19 outbreak \u2013 which has caused the deaths of more than 60,000 Americans, partial economic shutdowns and mass unemployment\u2014turned the abstract into reality. For the first time, ordinary Americans going about their lives in their own country fear for their economic and physical survival, because of political repression in a distant land.<\/p>\n

And Americans do, by and large, blame Chinese political repression for the crisis. According to a recent Harris poll<\/a>, more than 70% of Americans believe that China reported inaccurately on the outbreak\u2019s effects, and over 75% hold the Chinese government responsible for the virus\u2019s spread. In fact, 55\u201360% believe that China\u2019s government deserves more blame than its American counterpart for Covid-19\u2019s spread in the US.<\/p>\n

The second source of vulnerability lies in economic interdependence, especially US reliance on Chinese supply chains. Before the outbreak, Americans viewed this issue mainly through the lens of trade imbalances and job losses. They now largely see China\u2019s outsize role in producing the world\u2019s personal protective equipment and pharmaceutical ingredients as a dangerous national-security weakness that must be mitigated.<\/p>\n

But while the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted for Americans the true extent of the danger of engaging with China\u2019s one-party regime, a large and immediate surge in mutual hostility was not inevitable. That outcome reflects both governments\u2019 decisions to leverage the crisis to boost their domestic standing.<\/p>\n

After news of its botched initial response in Wuhan got out, the Chinese Communist Party went into damage-control mode. As soon as new infections began to decline, the government launched an aggressive diplomatic effort and propaganda blitz<\/a> to repair its image. It has sent medical supplies and personnel to hard-hit countries like Iran, Italy and the Philippines. At home, it has trumpeted its own resolute action, whipping up nationalism and criticising Western democracies\u2019 weak responses.<\/p>\n

The West, meanwhile, gave China plenty of ammunition. US President Donald Trump, in particular, has overseen a truly inept crisis response, characterised by finger-pointing, constant contradictions and outright lies.<\/p>\n

With Trump\u2019s failed response, and the associated meltdown of the US economy, now threatening<\/a> his re-election prospects, the Republican Party is eager to pin the blame on China. And many Americans seem convinced: according to the Harris poll, more than 50% agree with Trump\u2019s characterisation of the new coronavirus as the \u2018Chinese virus\u2019.<\/p>\n

This toxic brew of ideological hostility, a prolonged trade war, geopolitical rivalry and domestic politicking will most likely fuel further escalation in bilateral tensions. In the US, Congress is likely to pass legislation mandating the reshoring of China-based production of goods deemed relevant to national security. And the Trump administration will probably impose new sanctions, including tighter restrictions on technology transfers.<\/p>\n

Because such punitive measures enjoy wide public support\u201471% of Americans want to pull manufacturing back from China\u2014the only real question is how harsh they will be. Given the political stakes, Trump is unlikely to show much restraint. After all, the US relationship with China is set to be the most important foreign-policy issue in the November election. Already, Trump has begun attacking<\/a> his presumptive Democratic challenger, former vice president Joseph Biden, for being \u2018soft\u2019 on China, while Biden has responded by accusing<\/a> Trump of being softer.<\/p>\n

As for Chinese President Xi Jinping, he is unlikely to back down. Earlier this month, at a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee (the CCP\u2019s top decision-making body), he declared<\/a> that \u2018we must maintain \u201cbottom-line thinking\u201d and make mental and material preparations for changes in the external environment that will last a relatively long period of time\u2019\u201d. It\u2019s not yet clear exactly what Xi\u2019s \u2018bottom-line thinking\u2019 is, but it\u2019s a safe bet it implies that China will respond to intensifying US pressure not with concessions but with retaliation.<\/p>\n

At a time when the world is facing an imminent shared threat, a worsening cold war between its two largest economies is the last thing anyone needs. But with neither leader likely to change his approach, that outcome will be hard to avoid. In fact, far from catalysing global cooperation, the pandemic may well lock the US and China into a vicious cycle of escalation, leading directly to full-blown conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having already claimed more than 227,000 lives and sent the global economy towards its deepest slump since the Great Depression, the Covid-19 crisis is bound to reshape geopolitics. While the contours of the post-pandemic order …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":584,"featured_media":55447,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2658,772,2380],"class_list":["post-55443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-coronavirus","tag-geopolitics","tag-us-china-relations","dinkus-coronavirus"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCovid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Covid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Having already claimed more than 227,000 lives and sent the global economy towards its deepest slump since the Great Depression, the Covid-19 crisis is bound to reshape geopolitics. While the contours of the post-pandemic order ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-30T01:01:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/26541431789_2d94f5b999_c.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"799\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Minxin Pei\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Minxin Pei\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/26541431789_2d94f5b999_c.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/26541431789_2d94f5b999_c.jpg\",\"width\":799,\"height\":533},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/\",\"name\":\"Covid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-30T01:01:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-04-30T01:01:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed62d6c07f0016998ba37db162b7e9d1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Covid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed62d6c07f0016998ba37db162b7e9d1\",\"name\":\"Minxin Pei\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca20d7958a15eae38b3463a2213f7604?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca20d7958a15eae38b3463a2213f7604?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Minxin Pei\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/minxin-pei\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Covid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Covid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship | The Strategist","og_description":"Having already claimed more than 227,000 lives and sent the global economy towards its deepest slump since the Great Depression, the Covid-19 crisis is bound to reshape geopolitics. While the contours of the post-pandemic order ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2020-04-30T01:01:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":799,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/26541431789_2d94f5b999_c.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Minxin Pei","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Minxin Pei","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/26541431789_2d94f5b999_c.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/26541431789_2d94f5b999_c.jpg","width":799,"height":533},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/","name":"Covid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2020-04-30T01:01:37+00:00","dateModified":"2020-04-30T01:01:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed62d6c07f0016998ba37db162b7e9d1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/covid-19-is-finishing-off-the-sino-american-relationship\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Covid-19 is finishing off the Sino-American relationship"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed62d6c07f0016998ba37db162b7e9d1","name":"Minxin Pei","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca20d7958a15eae38b3463a2213f7604?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca20d7958a15eae38b3463a2213f7604?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Minxin Pei"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/minxin-pei\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55443"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/584"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55443"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55448,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55443\/revisions\/55448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}