The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has set the arena for the United States (U.S.) to demonstrate its leadership and proclaimed better position in the world in comparison with China. Nonetheless, its isolationist policy under the administration of President Donald J. Trump led the U.S. to produce poor international confidence and support based on its worrying figures from pandemic management. Boosted by COVID-19, this left a path clear for the U.S.’s main rival, China, to present its aspirations for a different world order.
By Pablo Cisneros Yánez
Since the global outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 (causing COVID-19 disease) pandemic in early 2020, two main issues have become a priority for all governments: cooperation and leadership. As China was the first country to deal with the virus, it was expected to help the rest of the world and demonstrate an efficient way to tackle COVID-19, especially considering that China suffered from SARS in 2003, and A (H1N1)pdm09 in 2009. [1] At the same time, given its historical global position and well-equipped health structure, U.S. was called upon to show the world how a leader would manage this crisis at every level. [2] However, none of that happened. [3] Beijing has faced accusations of hiding information about the virus, while Washington records the highest numbers of cases and deaths - in fact, some U.S. states hold worse figures than entire countries. Besides the pandemic, some nations rely on U.S. cooperation for help with other issues; as a world leader it is expected that the U.S. would help tackle COVID-19 globally.
No one can deny that defeating the virus is a difficult task, leaving a clear path to international cooperation and coordination between countries in order to teach and learn from each other’s experiences. Factually, the handling of the containment of COVID-19 had more success in democratic nations such as Germany, South Korea, and Taiwan [4]; the U.S, could have used any of these examples from which to learn. As the global hegemon, it was expected that President Donald J. Trump would take these experiences and transform them into important guidelines to lead other countries that rely upon Washington and to show how this shoud be handled in the big leagues. [5] Leadership, respect, and confidence are built by example. The U.S. demonstrated none of that, neither at a national nor international level.
The U.S. is continuing to lose the chance to become a leader in battling the new coronavirus. Its current foreign policy of America First has diminished the fellowship and trust for international cooperation, especially with traditional allies. [6] In some other cases, Washington could not match its aspirations to those of its supposed partners. For instance, in a 2019 survey taken by ASEAN countries, the majority said that they “[…] had little to no confidence that ‘the United States will do the right thing” in contributing to global peace, security, prosperity and governance’ [7] considering American behaviour with regards to international agreements such as: Paris, Iran Nuclear Deal, and the Transpacific Partnership. If America expects cooperation and willingness, it needs to offer a viable alternative. [8]
However, not everything is lost. There are three essential pillars that may allow the U.S. to lead again, as Campbell & Doshi (2020) suggest: “managing the problem at home, supplying global public goods, and coordinating a global response”. [9] The last issue is the simplest to accomplish and will be the topic of the rest of this article. If the World Health Organisation lost credibility in the U.S. as in many other countries, [10] the White House has a golden opportunity to demonstrate how to handle the current crisis, in order to reform world dependency on the United Nations (U.N.) in the future.
Notwithstanding, several warnings from the scientific community about a new possible pandemic were ignored by most governments. [11] The U.S. was not an exception. Instead of imposing national restrictions, as scientists suggested, the White House prioritised the economy over public health, and the numbers of cases and deaths speak for themselves. [12] Internationally, America was expected to help other countries that lacked resources [13] to deal with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. [14] As a response, the U.S. offered only a few ventilators, while China was thanked by Mexico [15], the Czech Republic, and Italy, among others, for its distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies. These actions cleansed China’s image [16] and shadowed America’s. [17]
The foreign policy of America First and a “social distancing” from global affairs led the U.S. to lose its positive standing amongst historic allies [18] and beneficiaries of its cooperation. [19] If one of the main goals of the Trump administration is to “combat” Chinese leadership, blaming the virus, Trump should have arranged countries under his leadership that could back his position on the international stage, by creating a sort of alliance or group. However, this never happened and the U.S.’s solitude was reflected at the 75th U.N. General Assembly and at the U.N. Security Council, when American speeches directly accused China of a lack of action and transparent information about the forthcoming pandemic. No country backed this position, not even historic allies such as the United Kingdom (U.K.) or the European Union (E.U.). Rather, China replied saying that these accusations were unfounded, which Russia supported. [20] Rather than pointing to China as the one to blame for the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, the vast majority of governments appealed to question and perhaps redesign the U.N. system and the dependency it causes, or reinforce multilateralism as a tool of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In order to present a fresh and helpful image across the world as an ally, China is acting quickly. [21] By September, Chinese diplomats made a European tour to reinforce cooperation and understanding, with generally positive results besides the exception of the Czech Republic with whom there is a diplomatic impasse due to relations with Taiwan. [22] Even with this new Chinese approach of cooperation, an opportunity for leadership has been presented to the U.S.. [23] This opportunity comes alongside an increasingly unfavourable perception of Chinese management of the virus. [24] With the U.S. inadvertently calling the world’s attention towards its domestic problems only, China has a clear path to implant its vision on the international system, as stated by Rapp-Hopper (2020) “If the United States continues to founder while China offers supplies and coordination, international partners will naturally perceive China’s leadership to have strengthened, although they will not lose sight of its flaws”. [25]
The COVID-19 crisis combined with the America First foreign policy may result in a a shift in the international order. If the U.S. does not act cleverly, it is China who might take its place rapidly, as some scholars and professionals estimate. [26] The post-COVID-19 world will definitely need leadership that encourages and aids countries to “heal” through multilateralism. An analysis presented by the Asian Development Bank projects an impact on global economy up to £7.1 trillion. [27] With this scenario, who should pay this bill? Who are the actors called to lead recovery and the reorganisation of the world order? Will the U.S. learn from its mistakes? [28] Joe Biden and Donald Trump still have the chance to Make America Lead Again.
With the U.S. Presidential election at our door, whoever sits in the Oval Office by January 2021 must recover America’s image and leadership, which has diminished by the handling of the pandemic. Beyond the consequences of the pandemic as a catalyst for geopolitical clashes, it may only accelerate. In the great powers game, if America wants to maintain its principle world role, it must lead countries by example, not by image. The U.S. must avoid the mistake that led China to its Century of Humiliation (1839-1949); it must view itself as a place where countries seek to cooperate, and not work outside the international system. It must not make the Chinese mistake if it wants to succeed. [29]
SOURCES
[1] Campbell, K. & Doshi R. (2020) “The Coronavirus Could Reshape Global Order”. Foreign Affairs. Available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2020-03-18/coronavirus-could-reshape-global-order (Accessed: 4 Oct 2020).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Rapp-Hooper, M. (2020) “China, America, and the International Order after the Pandemic”. War on the Rocks. Available at: https://warontherocks.com/2020/03/china-america-and-the-international-order-after-the-pandemic/ (Accessed 1 Oct 2020).
[4] Kahl C. & Berengaut A. (2020) “Aftershocks: The Coronavirus Pandemic and the New World Disorder”. War on the Rocks. Available at: https://warontherocks.com/2020/04/aftershocks-the-coronavirus-pandemic-and-the-new-world-disorder/ (Accessed 12 Oct 2020).
[5] Oltermann P. (2020) “Do not assume US still aspires to be a world leader, Merkel warns”. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/26/do-not-assume-us-still-aspires-to-be-world-leader-merkel-warns (Accessed 30 Oct 2020).
[6] Campbell & Doshi (2020).
[7] Rapp-Hooper (2020).
[8] Packard N. & Jensen B. (2020) "Washington needs a bold rethink of its China Strategy". War on the Rocks. Available at: https://warontherocks.com/2020/06/washington-needs-a-bold-rethink-of-its-china-strategy/ (Accessed 16 Oct 2020).
[9] Packard & Jensen (2020).
[10] Hernández J. (2020) “Trump Slammed the W.H.O. Over Coronavirus. He’s Not Alone.” The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/world/asia/trump-who-coronavirus-china.html (Accessed 30 Oct 2020).
Campbell & Doshi (2020).
[11] Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (2019) “A World at Risk: Annual report on global preparedness for health emergencies”, 6.
[12] Kahl & Berengaut (2020).
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Cortes R., Esposito A. & Cooney P. (2020) “U.S. sends Mexico planeload of ventilators to fight coronavirus”. Reuters. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-mexico-usa-idUSKBN22H2T1 (Accessed 30 Oct 2020).
[16] Campbell & Doshi (2020).
[17] Kahl & Berengaut (2020).
[18] Ibid.
[19] Rapp-Hooper (2020).
[20] Lederer E. (2020) “At UN, China, Russia and US clash over pandemic responses”. The Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/at-un-china-russia-and-us-clash-over-pandemic-responses/2020/09/24/17697a5e-fe89-11ea-b0e4-350e4e60cc91_story.html (Accessed 24 Sep 2020).
[21] Kahl & Berengaut (2020).
[22] Al Jazeera (2020) “‘I am Taiwanese’, Czech Speaker Vystrcil tells Taiwan parliament”. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/1/i-am-taiwanese-czech-speaker-vystrcil-tells-taiwan-parliament (Accessed 19 Oct 2020).
[23] Packard & Jensen (2020).
[24] Silver L., Devlin K. & Huang C. (2020) “Unfavorable Views of China Reach Historic Highs in Many Countries”. Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2020/10/06/unfavorable-views-of-china-reach-historic-highs-in-many-countries/ (Accessed 6 Oct 2020).
[25] Rapp-Hooper (2020).
[26] Ibid.
[27] Roades, T. & Winberg D. (2020) “In Pandemic response, Health and Wealth go hand in hand”. Health Finance Institute. Available at: https://medium.com/@healthfininst/in-pandemic-response-health-and-wealth-go-hand-in-hand-af534490b5fd (Accessed 5 Oct 2020).
[28] Biden, J. (2020) “Why America Must Lead Again”. Foreign Affairs. Available at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2020-01-23/why-america-must-lead-again (Accessed 5 Oct 2020).
[29] Packard & Jensen (2020).