In a WeChat group, two netizens were arguing. One said: don’t forward the Foreign Ministry spokesman’s remarks about the source of the New crown outbreak. For more than a year, they have claimed that the source of the disease is in Italy, Spain or the United States, but all of them have empty words. Another says: this is not a general debate, but a great power struggle.
The background to this story is that last week, on January 15, the U.S. State Department issued a statement arguing that “the Chinese Communist Party has systematically prevented a transparent and thorough investigation into the origins of the new crown Epidemic while devoting significant resources to deception and disinformation. Two million people have died worldwide, and their families deserve to know the truth. The Chinese side has not defended itself on the matter, but has frequently questioned the origin of the virus from the Fort Detrick biobase in the U.S. On January 21, the People’s Daily social media sent out nine images amplifying the questionable remarks of the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, which were retweeted by other official media and a large number of netizens.
The mutual criticism between the U.S. and China is clearly not reciprocal. It is a fact that the outbreak of the new crown epidemic broke out in Wuhan a year ago, and that the international community, including WHO, demanded an investigation that was repeatedly blocked and delayed by China. Even if the virus did come from elsewhere, that does not absolve the Chinese Communist Party of responsibility for systematically preventing an investigation after the Wuhan outbreak. Moreover, medical experts and international organizations did not request an investigation of the U.S. Fort Detrick biological site, so there is no question of the U.S. similarly blocking the investigation and covering up the truth.
Obviously, like many patriotic netizens, that netizen did not care about facts and logical coherence, but rather about “fighting back” itself. They are proud to have participated in this “patriotic” action.
Historically, the source of a virus is largely incidental and does not in itself necessarily mean that the local government is negligent and responsible. The WHO has also repeatedly stated that they want to investigate the origin of the disease, not find the culprit. The Chinese government’s assertiveness raises doubts about the ongoing investigation by a team of WHO-appointed experts in Wuhan.
All indications are that the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s style of war wolves will not only continue in denying the cover-up of the outbreak, but may flourish on all fronts.
With Trump gone, the war wolves remain
Some commentators have suggested that after Biden‘s election to the U.S. presidency, Beijing is changing its diplomatic strategy in response to the new president’s very different governing style from that of his predecessor, Donald Trump. The war-wolf diplomacy that has repeatedly dazzled the international community is expected to come to an end.
Indeed, China appears to have repeatedly offered an olive branch to the new U.S. administration. Following Xi Jinping‘s formal call to congratulate Biden on Nov. 25 last year, Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai emphasized in his speech at the annual meeting of the Center for China-U.S. Studies in December that cooperation between China and the U.S. is mutually beneficial, while fighting is mutually harmful, and that cooperation is the only right choice for both countries.
Meanwhile, senior Chinese diplomat Fu Ying wrote an article in the New York Times calling for dialogue and cooperation between the two sides. As has been China’s propaganda routine for years, Fu’s article omits the fundamental difference between democratic and authoritarian systems and the fact that the two are inherently bound to clash fatally, and is an unintelligent, threatening platitude. But, to many, she was a voice of peacemaking on behalf of the Chinese government.
On Jan. 22, the Wall Street Journal quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying that China was pushing for a high-level meeting between the U.S. and China to discuss a summit between the two leaders. China wants to send Yang Jiechi, a member of the Central Political Bureau, to Washington to discuss the matter, which has been conveyed to Washington through Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai and intermediaries.
The report built a narrative of a resumption of “contact” between China and the United States on foreign policy, but was quickly denied by the Chinese side. The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. responded the same day, saying the Wall Street Journal report was factually incorrect and accusing it of being irresponsible. Apparently, China does not want to be seen in a “soft” posture.
Those expecting a change in China’s diplomacy from the war-wolf style may be disappointed, as the genesis of this foreign policy was not the Trump Administration‘s posture. China’s diplomatic departure from Deng Xiaoping’s strategy of hiding behind the light has been underway since the Hu Jintao era. When Xi Jinping came to power, he replaced Jiang Zemin’s “Three Represents” and Hu Jintao’s “Harmonious Society” with the “Chinese Dream” and began to hope for a long and good dance in the international arena, frequently “show the way for the world”.
In this process, the diplomacy of war wolves is regarded as an inevitable gesture for the great powers to compete with each other. The Chinese patriotic public highly recognizes and rejoices in this.
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