China Should Be More Proactive in Asking Questions. America, Please Respond!

Recently, the West, led by America, has continued its public opinion war against China with tremendous force. This war arose with the pandemic; but it stems not only from the outbreak, and it certainly will not cease after COVID-19 subsides. The recent public opinion battle is one of many perceptible long-term changes taking place in the world outside China.

The public opinion war against China appears to have at least these following extraordinary characteristics.

From taking pleasure in others’ misfortune to criticizing China, from slander to repeated accusations of “fake reporting,” from claiming damages from China to spreading conspiracy theories about China leaking the virus, American senior Cabinet officials and members of the American media crafted all kinds of lies and staked groundless claims, creating an echo chamber as anti-China sentiment continued to rise. Some conservative media outlets, exemplified by Fox News, even publicly announced, “Given that we need Chinese masks now, we need to first maintain good relations with China. When this is over, we will settle the score.”*

Though the demonization of China in public discourse and the popularization of the notion of “the Chinese threat” are consistent with the West’s typical anti-China practice, the recent public opinion war is different: The discussions are absurd, the variety of attacks are taking on new guises and the claims have reached an unprecedented low.

Secondly, the public opinion war has taken on a novel “coupling” strategy as a means of political suppression.

America has made the World Health Organization, which recognized China’s strenuous effort and effectiveness in containing the virus, another target of its attack. The U.S. is pursuing a “coupling” strategy to suppress its opponents. Risking universal condemnation, America even professed to the public that the WHO needs to serve U.S. interests, and announced that it will temporarily halt funding to the organization. America’s politicization of the coronavirus and its coupling of technical matters with political ideology now threaten to reduce America from one of the founding members of the global order to a country that is withdrawing from, and perhaps even harming, the international system.

As the coronavirus spreads, American politicians are placing their personal interests above the public’s health as they make arguments and search for the means to secure political power. As an example, in the Republican Party, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that it was “worthy” to sacrifice seniors over the age of 64 for the sake of protecting the economy. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve, in an attempt to fend off a market crash, chose to print cash without limit, relying on the strength of the U.S. dollar to let other nations cover the loss. This wide range of action shows absolutely no consideration for international law, and even breaches the basic spirit of humanitarianism.

Thirdly, the essence of the public opinion war is a part of America’s China strategy, which it has developed in recent years.

America’s strategy of containing China was already set in 2017. From the perspective of many in the U.S., the danger of the pandemic “proved” the need to unlink supply chains; it even “proved” the supposed threat of Chinese technology and the Chinese military. Therefore, during the pandemic, the violent public opinion war against China is connected with American attempts to contain China economically, technologically and militarily, efforts that already constitute a crucial part of America’s China strategy.

Finally, the ultimate goal of this war of public opinion is to maintain institutional hegemony.

Although not long ago, the summit of the Group of Seven major industrial nations refused to use the term “Wuhan virus” as proposed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, today the senior officials of the United States, the United Kingdom and France all speak tactlessly of China’s “lack of transparency.” As the pandemic peaks in the West, Western nations are attempting to regroup through this anti-China public opinion war. They are trying to redeem themselves on the international stage after failing to effectively combat the virus. Politicians from America and other Western nations initiated the anti-China war of public opinion not only to shift the blame, but, more importantly, to cover up the defects and social evils in the way of governing that the coronavirus has exposed, and are doing so to maintain their ethnic, cultural and institutional hegemony.

In conclusion, the public opinion war reveals increasing complexity in the world outside China, especially the anxiety of the U.S.-led West, as its dominance in the world begins to slide. On this basis, we can foresee that even when the coronavirus does subside, the anti-China public opinion war will not. China needs to prepare itself ideologically and operationally to face the long-term changes in the international environment.

If, objectively, 9/11 bought us years of opportunity to strategize, and the 2008 financial crisis was another juncture in U.S.-China relations that drew the two nations together in the important spirit of global cooperation, then the G-2 dream of American and China has now dissipated like a mirage. When faced with an unprecedented, once-in-a-century turn of events, China needs to be more proactive in shaping its outside environment. China needs to strengthen its forces when the need to fight arises.

For some time, when faced with the public opinion war that America repeatedly stirs up, China, more often than not, has responded only when pressed. This is because the status quo has not entirely changed; the West continues to set the norms for international discourse. Another reason for this is that China has always placed itself in the international order within the context of existing U.S.-China relations, hoping, warily, that the U.S. would listen to its advice that if the two countries would cooperate, both would benefit; if not, they would both lose out.

China has not dared to quarrel openly with the U.S. in any attempt to save face until now. But we need to break this established thought pattern. Our opponents are experts, and we need to play their game. We need to learn how to establish our own talking points in this public opinion war. We can ask America the following questions, and demand that the U.S. respond.

The U.S. government evidently wasted two months of preparation against the coronavirus. How can one pin blame on any party? The bankruptcy of New York’s Lehmann Brothers caused the 2008 global financial crisis; has America ever considered paying reparations to other countries that suffered immensely? In fact, this question has already been posed to American politicians by certain international organizations and notable members of the global community.

China should also stand united with expert organizations such as the WHO, and with Russia and developing countries that have been sanctioned by the United States, and demand answers from America about the following issues:

Why did America refuse to report its domestic situation to the WHO as the virus was beginning to spread? During the critical period, as the number of coronavirus cases climbed from 100,000 to 2 million, why did the United States brazenly announce that it would cut the WHO’s funding? Doesn’t the WHO, along with other nations, have sufficient reason to hold America accountable and demand compensation? Why did the U.S. continue to impose sanctions during the coronavirus outbreak? Where is America’s moral legitimacy? Where is its humanity?

Needless to say, only injustice will follow from the United States’ “America First” bullying. The public opinion war America is waging against China will eventually cease and its effort will be likened to that of mere flies trying to change the course of the wind in the world.

*Editor’s note: Although this quoted remark was accurately translated, it could not be independently verified.