As the coronavirus pandemic deepens, the governments of two countries that have emerged as epicenters — the People’s Republic of China and the United States — have turned to a time-honored performance: blaming each other. On March 12, PRC diplomat Zhao Lijian pushed a conspiracy theory that the US Army could have brought the virus to China. In a press briefing days later, US President Donald Trump nicknamed COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” in apparent retaliation.
In reality, both governments deserve heavy criticism for their botched response to the virus. Beijing’s early attempt to cover up the outbreak may have cost untold thousands of lives (its present eagerness to reopen Hubei province for business, possibly based on misleading data, could be just as dangerous). Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s dithering — combined with its gutting of public health infrastructure, including eliminating the CDC’s liaison to China last July — has only made the disaster in America far more serious.
This week, both sides orchestrated a pullback. On Monday, the PRC’s US ambassador Cui Tiankai disavowed the conspiracy theory promoted by Zhao, adding on Twitter that the United States and China “have to work together as partners to combat the virus.” On cue, Trump told Fox News just hours later he would stop using the term “Chinese virus,” praising his friendship with Chinese president Xi Jinping and adding that China has “been through hell.”
