The War on COVID-19 Has Hardly Even Begun

The World Is Stuck Between Trump and China

The world is currently being held hostage, and not just by the coronavirus. This is because the question of how well we manage to get through the crisis depends on China and the U.S. – the world’s two superpowers. In the shadow of the pandemic, they have declared a propaganda war on each other while the rest of the world has been shackled to their spectator seats. In one corner is an increasingly bitter Donald Trump, and in the other corner, the communist dictator of a totalitarian regime in the form of Xi Jinping.

Trump is increasingly firm in believing the theory which holds that the coronavirus originated in a Chinese lab in Wuhan—whether or not it was spread on purpose—is correct. Trump’s secretary of state, Mike Pompeo also supports the theory, and in an interview with ABC, claimed to have “enormous evidence” of it, even though neither Pompeo nor Trump have shared this evidence. American intelligence agencies have confirmed no information about a leak from a Chinese lab; rather it’s quite the opposite. The existence of any such evidence has been denied.

Getting Coverage in Sweden

Nevertheless, the theory is still getting coverage, even in the Swedish media, as if it were simply facts from some source. It is not that simple, of course.

The speculation concerning the Wuhan lab constitutes America’s biggest attack on China so far, with the aim of both directing attention away from its own handling of the crisis and further securing American influence on world politics. Just as China sees the coronavirus crisis as a chance to strengthen its global position, the U.S. sees a risk of losing its own. America’s fear is justified. Most things look good when placed next to Trump, but we cannot be fooled into thinking that China belongs in this category.

Scientists are relatively united in their view that the likely origin of the coronavirus came from bats, which managed to spread the virus to humans through another animal. It would not be the first or the last time this has happened. However, we still cannot be certain, as we still do not know enough, and China is not showing us all its cards.

On Monday, there were reports that China had purposely hidden information about how far the coronavirus had spread in order to give them enough time to reset and prepare the necessary resources for health care. That is a very serious charge, and currently, it is more believable than theories about leaks from a lab.

We need an independent investigation and additional research to get to the truth of how our world leaders have handled the crisis. Decades are likely to pass before the fog lifts. Before that time, we are likely to see more of the information war between China and the U.S. Under such circumstances, we must not forget that Trump does not become more reliable because he manipulates China. The sad truth is that these days we cannot trust anyone.