The Rising Tensi non between the US and China
The pandemic has been demonstrating a key role in US-China already tense relations. The relations were not good even before the pandemic. There was a trade war going on between the superpower US and the emerging superpower China, however, Covid-19 has aggravated the tussle. In December 2019, Covid-19 emerged in the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province of China. The US and especially President Donald Trump is blaming China for the virus. President Trump referred to the virus ‘Chinese Virus’. He thinks the virus was released from a virology lab of Wuhan institute intentionally or unintentionally.
On the other hand, China blamed the US and Europe for not taking any steps immediately after knowing about the situation in China. Such a blaming game will worsen the economic, geopolitical, and social damages that the pandemic has already brought.
The experts in international relations observed that the pandemic has initiated a new cold war between the United States and China. Tensions were already high between the two countries. China has challenged the might of the US in the South China Sea by building military bases. It has also increased its influence in Africa and Europe. There are territorial disputes between the allies of the US and China. There is a dispute between Japan and China over certain islands and other countries over the maritime borders in the South China Sea. The trade war was intensified till mid-January this year as both the countries imposed heavy tariffs over the imports of the opposite country.
The emerging of viruses has turned the table with the havoc it has brought to the economy of the world, especially the United States of America. These new issues will affect the relationship between the two countries. The US is the worst-hit country in the world in the case of affected persons and fatalities. With this, the US economy is hit hard and Trump is increasingly turning on China. He has endorsed the idea that the virus was released deliberately to target the US economy. On the other hand, China blames the US for releasing the virus by American soldiers in an exercise in Wuhan city. It has also called for an international inquiry into the disease. America blames the Chinese government for its xenophobia in some of its cities. Some politicians in America demanded the ban of Chinese students in American institutes. This situation can be altered slightly between the two countries.
As the economic and human costs of the pandemic increase, the tension may escalate between the two major economic superpowers. There are nationalist feelings in the people of both countries and the disease has directly hit the health, economy, social life, etc. directly. This may develop a negative perception among the public of both countries against each other. The situation worsens, this may bring a new confrontation between the two superpowers.
The success of China in controlling the disease has given it an edge over the US which makes the latter country uncomfortable as it is the only country that may challenge the might of the US. China has done well but the US and the west continue their blame game. The economic performance and industrial production have further increased the sense of loss among the American and Western elites. If China was suffering like the US and Western countries, this might have felt better. However, unlike the other countries, China has done a tremendous job on all fronts during the crises. The West still continues its struggle against the virus but China has returned to normalcy after a temporary economic shutdown.
The time is ripe for confrontation but this is also a time to establish cooperation and collaboration to defeat the disease globally.