Opinion: How China is taking advantage of the 2020 crisis

By: Rithwik Korukonda Bhattar

​China denied the claims of covering up the severity of the virus, stating that it wasn’t aware how infectious the coronavirus was. The Chinese officials spent weeks denying the severity of the coronavirus outbreak which eventually spread to the rest of the world which cost nations crucial time in preparing for the damage which would eventually be caused by the virus. Experts believe that the CCP should be held accountable for more than 3 million infections and 200,000 deaths worldwide. However, China isn’t letting the crisis go to waste, and is taking advantage of the crisis to pursue its long term foreign policy goals. First by claiming authority over disputed territories in the south china sea and claiming sovereignty over hong kong, second by taking advantage of the struggling african countries who are unable to cope up with the crisis, and finally by launching a disinformation campaign to blame the virus on other countries.

In April, The Chinese ministry of civil affairs announced that the state council had approved two new administrative divisions under Sansha City, which was created in 2012 to encompass the south china sea China claimed these two districts, Paracel and Spratly islands, under its nine-dash line claim. Five other states - Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan, and Malaysia - have territorial claims over China’s Nine Dash Line. These claims led to criticism from Vietnam, unsurprisingly, as Vietnam has faced challenges from China as Chinese ships have been operating in its economic zone. Vietnam has also claimed sovereignty over the Paracel Islands. China has also used this opportunity to try to gain control over hong kong, aiming towards getting rid of the pro-democracy movement there. This has caused all the G7 countries to sign an official statement urging China to reconsider the new Hong Kong Security Law, which China has Opposed. China has also taken advantage of the vulnerable countries in Africa who are unable to cope with the virus.

Nearly every african country has recorded cases of COVID 19, which has lied to over 30 countries in the continent to impose lockdown. This caused the governments to ask for debt relief so they can invest more healthcare, sanitation, and food. China is one of the continents largest creditors and counts for 17 to 24 percent of Africa’s external debt. According to the Wall Street Journal, Chinese leaders have asked Zambian officials to provide Collateral for the loan defaults, in this case the Copper mines in Zambia. China has a very transactional view of foreign policy. If they give something, they expect something in return. Finally, China has launched a disinformation campaign which blames the virus on other countries.

China has alleged that the virus has originated in the US, stating that it originated in a US bioweapons laboratory and was spread by the army. More than a dozen Chinese embassies amplified the story on twitter, making it viral. Global times, the english version of the CCPs People's daily, stated another theory that the virus may have originated in Italy. Beyond these disinformation campaigns, Chinese operatives have also amplified false text messages that went viral in the US in Mid march warning that US president Donald Trump was going to order a two week national quarantine. The message caused such chaos that the national security council had to tweet that it was false. China is also sending medical aid to countries in Europe which are unable to cope up with the virus, such as Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Serbia. China is trying to make itself look like the hero of the crisis, rather than the villain.

Chinese efforts to exploit the pandemic will make it difficult for countries like the US to work with the country, and will negatively impact China's relations with other leading powers.

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Sources:
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/28/21234598/coronavirus-china-xi-jinping-foreign-policy https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/making-sense-of-chinas-latest-bid-to-administer-sovere ignty-in-the-south-china-sea/ https://www.vox.com/2020/4/21/21225002/coronavirus-africa-cases-death-food-debt-ec onomy https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/world/asia/coronavirus-hong-kong-protests.html https://www.state.gov/g7-foreign-ministers-statement-on-hong-kong/ https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/14/zambias-spiraling-debt-and-the-future-of-chinese-loa n-financing-in-africa.html https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2020-04-22/chinas-coronavirus-information -offensive https://medium.com/@eolander/analyst-explains-why-chinas-debt-trap-diplomacy-critics -are-wrong-74773e229f4f