As COVID-19 situation is getting worse day-by-day, some countries are pointing fingers at China for not disclosing the facts on the ground regarding the spread and mortality of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
Three countries have gone one step further in this blame game and have taken measures to impose several bans on China. All this altercation has resulted in the worsening of diplomatic relations between these countries.
Fast-forward to now, the fact is, China could not control the situation, initially, which resulted in hundreds and thousands of deaths in Wuhan, China, and all around the world including the death of whistleblower Chinese Dr. Li Wenliang. China did not impose a travel ban fast enough, which, ultimately, led to the spread of the virus globally. Almost 50,000 Chinese nationals left Wuhan when already hundreds of cases were reported before the lockdowns.
Now, Covid-19 is getting out of control. Rather than fighting the virus together, these states are beating drums of war. All this animosity against each other will definitely have long-term repercussions. Let’s analyze three countries blaming and banning china.
JAPAN
At the time of writing this piece, Japan is under a state of emergency because of the continuous rise in new COVID-19 positive cases and overcrowding of hospitals with infected patients, resulting in a total shut down of Tokyo and other metropolitan cities, pushing Japan’s economy into the abyss.
Like some other heads of state, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also, was infuriated at Chinese authorities for mishandling the pandemic and started taking measures that would lead to a mass exodus of Japanese manufacturing companies, officially entering into a trade war with China.
In the first week of April 2020, Prime Mister Abe took drastic measures to curtail the novel coronavirus while announcing a $2.2 billion package that would facilitate those Japanese companies that will make efforts to take their manufacturing units out of China and into homeland, Japan or Japanese friendly countries. Further deteriorating the situation, Japan has included China, among others, in its long list of travel-bans.
US
US President Trump praised Beijing’s efforts in controlling the pandemic, initially, but as the virus spread in the US, the President did not hesitate to name the virus as “Chinese virus.” In a recent press conference, Trump said we have substantial evidence of Chinese mishandling of the novel coronavirus, and that China will pay the consequences.
US-China relationship is at its lowest ebb. The spat intensified when Trump administration slapped increased tariffs on Chinese goods, and China responded in a similar tone by increasing tariffs on US goods.
As of now, Trump administration has given many stimulus packages to US multinationals to prompt them to take their production units out of china and restart manufacturing within the US, thus creating jobs and supporting the economy overall.
In a recent press conference, President Trump praised his own decision in imposing a total travel ban on China, further escalating the rift between the two countries.
Australia
China-Australia relations aggravated when PM Morrison put forward an idea for an international probe on the COVID-19 outbreak, supported by WHO. Australian government sought the help of Germany, France, and the US to launch an independent international investigation on the origin and spread of the outbreak.
PM Morrison’s idea of an international independent investigation on the outbreak outraged China. Responding to the rhetoric, Chinese diplomats threatened to impose a ban on Australian beef and wine, escalating already strained relations between the two countries.
Tensions between the two countries reached a dead end when details of a phone call between Chinese and Australian officials leaked on the Chinese Embassy’s official website. A state-run Chinese news website editor went far enough by calling Australia, “A gum, stuck to the bottom of China’s shoe.”
Others
Although the countries mentioned above have gone one step further blaming and isolating China, there are other countries that are not happy with China, either. Vietnam, for instance, has launched a series of cyberattacks on China to collect intel on treatment drugs or vaccines for coronavirus. India is blaming China for exporting faulty test kits. A recent survey in the UK showed a vast majority of people who believe that the virus spread from bats and pangolins traded in Chinese wet markets.
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