Pandemic geopolitics – Is China winning? | Leaders | The Economist
President Donald Trump seems to have no interest in leading the global response to the virus. Previous American presidents led campaigns against HIV/AIDS and Ebola. Mr Trump has vowed to defund the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its alleged pro-China bias (see article). With the man in the White House claiming absolute power but saying I don t take responsibility at all , China has a chance to enhance its sway.
Even so, it may not succeed. For one thing, there is no way to know whether China s record in dealing with covid-19 is as impressive as it claims let alone as good as the records of competent democracies such as South Korea or Taiwan. Outsiders cannot check if China s secretive officials have been candid about the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. An authoritarian regime can tell factories to start up, but it cannot force consumers to buy their products (see article). For as long as the pandemic rages, it is too soon to know whether people will end up crediting China for suppressing the disease or blaming it for suppressing the doctors in Wuhan who first raised the alarm.
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