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Opinion | The coronavirus crisis may be helping China and Xi Jinping solve the Donald Trump problem
- The pandemic may have a ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’ silver lining for Xi
- As bad as Covid-19 has been for China’s image around the world, it may turn out to be a godsend for Xi if it means the end of Trump in the White House
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
After the National People’s Congress removed presidential term limits in 2018, there was much speculation that Xi Jinping would remain in power past the end of his second term in 2023.
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Then 2019 happened. China’s trade war with the United States dragged on, with no end in sight. Hongkongers took to the streets to protest against Beijing’s backtracking on Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” form of governance. Relations with Taipei worsened. And finally, Covid-19, a disease outbreak that began in Wuhan, went global, and brought heaps of opprobrium on Xi and Beijing.
These events have made some outside China wonder aloud how much criticism Xi is facing behind the scenes from Communist Party rivals and colleagues. No one knows, of course, but Covid-19 has surely been bad for both China and its leader.
Yet, as bad as it is, the pandemic may end up helping Xi too. Covid-19 may solve his Donald Trump problem.
02:06
The first identified cases of Covid-19 showed up in Wuhan late last year. As news about the cases grew, much of the world believed, or was led to believe, that the virus could be largely contained in China, if not Wuhan itself.
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