The Blame Game Phenomenon between the United States and China

The Blame Game Phenomenon between the United States of America and China

[News Reporting]
Analysis and Written by: Fernando Savero Suhendra

Published                       : 01 April 2020, 17.59 WIB

With the coronavirus’ issues diffusing across nations, where political leaders are being tested on their coordination, management skills, including their effectiveness for distribution of resources in respond to the pandemic, China and the United States, had once again entered into a strife. Nevertheless, unlike its precedented trade-war on goods, this is more than war of words. As BBC underlined, “something fundamental is going on.”

        

In regards to indictments made by Chinese officials, according to Trump, which held American soldiers as ones responsible for this contagious pandemic, President Trump, who apparently was heated, retaliated by identifying the virus as a ‘Chinese virus’. Meanwhile, the President himself has undermined the immense effects these microscopic agents have over not only the population of both countries, but over the population of the whole world. When asked by CNN’s Jim Acosta as to the implication of coronaviruses, he announced the situation to be under control. CNN quoted the President’s words, “Stay calm, it will go away. You know it—you know it is going away, and it will go away, and we’re going to have a great victory.” In numerous occasions, he diminished the effect, where in fact, the number has gone up to almost 161,000 cases. As to the reason behind his contradictory statements, it is accounted that he did not want to cause major panic among citizens, particularly at a period of time where he is rallying for his second term in office. Not only the President referred this outbreak as a ‘Chinese virus’, the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo also claimed the virus as the ‘Wuhan virus’, a news conference, made after a virtual G7’s conference, which undeniably frustrated China. He also made allegations to Chinese Communist Party, under the current leadership of Chinese President, President Xi Jinping, as diminishing transparency to the crisis.

In contrast to the United States who has enclosed its borders to several countries, mainly European nations, including Italy, who has rank the second country with most cases, with 105,792 confirmed cases, China, who had just surfaced from its outbreak, began a role to be a global player, providing medical assistances and necessities, to not only Italy, but also Iran and Serbia. China’s recovering economy is also contributing to its effort by providing a helping hand in restoring the economy’s crisis experienced by other nations. Kurt M. Campbell, who was a former assistant secretary of state to the Obama administration, and Rush Doshi described it in a way where coronavirus “is testing all three elements of US leadership. So far, Washington is failing the test. As Washington falters, Beijing is moving quickly and adeptly to take advantage of the opening created by US mistakes, filling the vacuum to present itself as the global leader in pandemic response.”

If it does not want to falter behind, the United States, especially its current president, President Trump, should learn that rather than just condemning and criticising other countries for its shortfalls, it should learn to take responsibility for its analysis and actions, while re-evaluating them to bring a more better solutions. Just what Campbell and Doshi wrote in their Foreign Affairs piece, that unless US policymakers seize the moment, “the coronavirus pandemic could mark another ‘Suez moment’.”