Coronavirus: the high stakes propelling the US-China blame game
- Both governments hope to distract from their own glaring mishandling of the pandemic, analysts say
- Still, the sparring comes while relations between the nations are already low and could threaten the global economy and raise chances of a military misstep
Already battered relations between the United States and China have declined to their lowest level in recent memory at a time when the coronavirus crisis calls for unprecedented global cooperation and collaboration.
A range of irritants, mutual recriminations, long-standing and festering tensions, China watchers say, are putting the global economy at further risk and increasing the chance of a military misstep.
Events fuelling trans-Pacific mistrust in recent weeks include finger-pointing over who “started” the deadly coronavirus, something Trump has doubled down on as seen by his latest comments from the White House Thursday.
Adding to this has been recent moves to expel journalists reporting from each other’s countries; a deeply destructive trade war; and a growing fear among Americans that China – the world’s leading manufacturer of medical supplies – could restrict exports of surgical masks and medical equipment needed to save lives.
“Shocks and crises such as Covid-19 tend to exacerbate rather than repair already fraught relationships, and this is no different with respect to the US and China,” said John Lee, a senior fellow at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney in Australia and with the Hudson Institute in Washington.
