A timeframe of seven months has never been so critical in the history of modern human beings as of now. The COVID-19 outbreak, supposed to be from China’s Wuhan market by December last year, has engulfed the socio-economic and political spheres of the entire world within this short run. The Beijing’s failure in early diagnosis and its later success, the breakdown of European health administration, Trump administration’s delinquency in fighting virus, U.S.-China blame game over virus mishandling, declaration of American withdrawal from W.H.O., and finally, China’s Health Silk Road could expedite reforms in the existing world order. Although having limited impact, these upshots are enough to fast-track the ongoing restructuring.
Unfolding Virus Spread
The world had never imagined such a grave global health catastrophe imputed to a debilitating economic recession is impending, when first Covid-19 recorded positive at China’s Wuhan in December 2019. According to the BBC, the total cases in China had surged up to 1200 by January end. Multiple expert analyses indicating the Chinese economic slowdown and the ramifications this could have on the much anticipated BRI projects were available in a while. PRC’s National Bureau of Statistics in March projected that around five million people job loss in the initial two months of 2020.
The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, launched in 2004, in the wake of the SARS outbreak, was broadly charged for its inefficiency in early virus detection. The international criticism mounted over Beijing for punishing Chinese doctor Li Wenilang who posted an alert on the new virus in his medical school alumni group. Later, his demise, infected by the same, gave rise to a damning indictment of the Chinese governance model for its infringement of freedom of expression and shortfall in transparency. On 24th January, the first human to human transmission was corroborated by WHO in a Vietnamese national who has had no foreign travel. In the Aftermath of worrying spread, both in numbers and virus hit regions, on 31st January, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it as a global pandemic.
Mounting Criticism
The international criticism raged up against Beijing over its negligence in reporting the virus outburst in its beginning itself. The situation in countries like United States, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Iran, and the U.K. went aggravated by mid-March as the entire health systems crumbled following the crisis in many of these states. The World Trade Organization (W.T.O.) has prognosticated a drop of 13-32% in global commercial activities. The economic crunch and deepened political predicament triggered howls of outrage from these governments to probe into the origin of the infection and Beijing’s alleged mishandling of the disease.
Subsequently, Mr. Trump explicitly pronounced he would seek reimbursement from Beijing for its lapses. A German Newspaper published an invoice of 130 Billion Euros compensation for Berlinin return for the financial damages due to China’s Covid-19 response. The motion for an independent inquiry into the origin of the deadly virus gained the support of 122 nations incorporating the European Union, Russia, and India at the 73rd World Health Assembly. These events were a slap in the face of the world’s second-largest economy and rising superpower. Beijing’s international reputation got severely hampered.
But, despite this, the situation evolved dramatically when many European powers with several other North and Latin American heavyweights began to groan under the swift spread of the virus. The PRC’s relative success in bringing the outbreak under control helped it to win-back its lost face for the missteps at the initial stage to some extent. Beijing responded quickly to this opportunity by revitalizing its ‘Health Silk Road’ when many nations have been reeling under the epidemic. As per the report by Xinhua news agency, over eighty countries all over the world have taken Beijing’s assistance to fight the pandemic. The recipient’s list encompasses a wide range of states from Nigeria in Africa, Serbia, Czech Republic, and Italy in Europe to Iran, and the Philippines in the Asian continent.
Albeit the border disputes, Beijing extended its helping hands to neighbor Philippines sending 2000 rapid test kits. Italy, one of the worst-hit nations, obtained three rounds of expert assistance and shipped consignment containing millions of Masks to the Czech Republic. Liberia got flown gloves and PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) kits, and Nigeria acquired the service from the Chinese medical team. Colombo was offered $500 million along with three batches of medical shipments to combat the virus. The Covid-19 related medical supply worth 432 million euros was made available for Spain through commercial channels to address the shortfall. Serbia’s President was present at the airport to welcome the Chinese material assistance and unreservedly praised Beijing and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Czech minister applauded P.R.C. being the sole country capable of providing much needed medical devices in bulk quantities. The Italy and Serbia, desperate over the absence of support from the E.U., pitched into public criticism against the European solidarity.
Trump’s Covid-19 Response
The United States pandemic administration, both in terms of internal and external, has poured water to Beijing’s mill. First of all, the U.S. failure in keeping the virus at check has damaged its outlook as a global leader capable of taking the lead during the emergencies. The United States is currently one of the most severely affected nations since the coronavirus outburst was confirmed. The American response to the epidemic has generated a trust deficit over the credentials of American institutions. Beijing’s much higher degree of success in virus control and its active diplomatic outreach, compared to the United States has quietly enhanced its global stature or at least have substantiated its toehold in some pockets.
Contrary to the protagonist role played by White House while the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Trump’s America with internal focus is stepping back from the frontlines of coronavirus battle. The Coordination, leadership, and aid from the United States during this pandemic hardly meet international expectations. Rush Doshi serving as director of China Strategy initiative at Brookings, describes the Covid-19 outbreak being the first instance in decades without meaningful American leadership and with substantial Chinese presence.
The United States hasn’t yet spent a third of the $1.59 billion pandemic assistance package approved by the U.S. Congress, three months before, aimed to deliver through U.S. Agency for International Development and the country’s state department to the nations in need. Apart from this, many actions by Trump administration are eroding the country’s global credibility and the leverage which it enjoys over the international institutions. Trump’s attempt to strike an exclusive deal with German biopharmaceutical firm CureVac, to secure priority for the U.S. in vaccine supply brought Berlin and White House to loggerheads. The US president on similar lines preferred to stay out of the jointly funded venture to develop an effective drug for Coronavirus convened by European Union in May. A group of nations that include Canada, Norway, Japan, and Australia pledged to raise around $ 8 billion for the proposed mission.
Donald Trump’s withdrawal plan from the World Health Organization (WHO), marks another instance of his policy formulations based on misconceptions. The United States has been the largest donor and contributor of WHO since its formations in 1948. Even in the latest funding cycle, Washington retains its top spot with $893 million (15%) in the list. Although Mr. Trump’s announcement is hard to meet the constitutional norms, the unilateral proclamation has harmed U.S.’s image as a responsible global leader that it pushed for many decades and has allotted more space to Beijing for expansion in a critical international body. The Beijing, cashing in on this opportunity, stepped in with an additional $30 million contribution besides the $20 million offered for the Covid-19 prevention. Even though the Chinese contribution remains far lower than the U.S., the President’s move has strengthened its position at the cost of the United States.
President Trump, having been campaigned on to ‘make America great again’ never seems to realize the fundamental pillars of the U.S.’s leadership and the role of international institutions in this process. Trump’s decisions like the recent withdrawal proposal from WHO and the exit from the Paris Climate Agreement are all boomerangs that undermine America’s position in the international arena. To counter Beijing’s expansionist ambitions, the White House needs to spring into action, reclaiming the political space which it has granted to Beijing.
