06-02-2021, 06:40 AM
** 01-Jun-2021 World View: Investigating the pandemic is inevitable, necesssary and dangerous
Here is another article that describes the situation. It makes the
same point that I made in my article -- that China's shrill attitude
is the result of the dictatorship of Xi Jinping:
https://www.afr.com/world/asia/china-s-w...601-p57x1a
In reality, a guilty conscience is not the only plausible explanation
for Beijing’s response. The broader difficulty is that China’s
reaction to any criticism in the outside world seems to be a toxic mix
of threats, shrill rhetoric and secrecy. This applies whether the
topic is Xinjiang, Taiwan or COVID-19.
This style of “wolf warrior” diplomacy is frequently
counter-productive. But it is also an inevitable product of a
domestic system that demands sycophancy towards President Xi – and
which enforces that demand with censorship and repression.
It is unrealistic to expect a system that is closed and paranoid at
home to be flexible and open in its engagement with the outside world.
A lot of aggressive messaging from China’s diplomats may even be
primarily intended for ordinary citizens or bosses back home. The goal
is to show that the Xi government is standing up for China. ...
The stakes for China are very high. Over the past year, China has
succeeded in changing the narrative over COVID-19. After initially
reeling under the impact of being the first to be hit, Beijing has
managed to highlight China’s success in containing the disease,
compared with the high death tolls in the west.
The news of the fresh US inquiry suddenly puts Beijing on the spot
again. Faced with this immensely difficult situation, China will need
all the friends it can find. But the Xi administration and its
wolf-warrior diplomats have spent the past year alienating potential
partners.
The latest blow was the European Parliament’s decision to freeze the
ratification of a major investment agreement between China and the EU
– following Beijing’s imposition of sanctions on European officials
and institutions, which was itself a response to EU sanctions imposed
over Xinjiang.
Relations with India have also taken a steady turn for the worse over
the past year. For New Delhi, the turning point was China’s aggression
in the Himalayas last year – which resulted in the death of troops on
both sides. Senior Indian analysts believe that the pressure that
Beijing was feeling over COVID-19 in the summer of 2020 may have been
a background factor in the decision to escalate tensions.
There is a clear risk that if China feels newly cornered over
COVID-19, it will once again respond with aggression – or with the
search for some kind of international diversion. The drive to
understand how the pandemic began is inevitable and necessary. It is
also dangerous. -- Financial Times, Australia
Here is another article that describes the situation. It makes the
same point that I made in my article -- that China's shrill attitude
is the result of the dictatorship of Xi Jinping:
https://www.afr.com/world/asia/china-s-w...601-p57x1a
In reality, a guilty conscience is not the only plausible explanation
for Beijing’s response. The broader difficulty is that China’s
reaction to any criticism in the outside world seems to be a toxic mix
of threats, shrill rhetoric and secrecy. This applies whether the
topic is Xinjiang, Taiwan or COVID-19.
This style of “wolf warrior” diplomacy is frequently
counter-productive. But it is also an inevitable product of a
domestic system that demands sycophancy towards President Xi – and
which enforces that demand with censorship and repression.
It is unrealistic to expect a system that is closed and paranoid at
home to be flexible and open in its engagement with the outside world.
A lot of aggressive messaging from China’s diplomats may even be
primarily intended for ordinary citizens or bosses back home. The goal
is to show that the Xi government is standing up for China. ...
The stakes for China are very high. Over the past year, China has
succeeded in changing the narrative over COVID-19. After initially
reeling under the impact of being the first to be hit, Beijing has
managed to highlight China’s success in containing the disease,
compared with the high death tolls in the west.
The news of the fresh US inquiry suddenly puts Beijing on the spot
again. Faced with this immensely difficult situation, China will need
all the friends it can find. But the Xi administration and its
wolf-warrior diplomats have spent the past year alienating potential
partners.
The latest blow was the European Parliament’s decision to freeze the
ratification of a major investment agreement between China and the EU
– following Beijing’s imposition of sanctions on European officials
and institutions, which was itself a response to EU sanctions imposed
over Xinjiang.
Relations with India have also taken a steady turn for the worse over
the past year. For New Delhi, the turning point was China’s aggression
in the Himalayas last year – which resulted in the death of troops on
both sides. Senior Indian analysts believe that the pressure that
Beijing was feeling over COVID-19 in the summer of 2020 may have been
a background factor in the decision to escalate tensions.
There is a clear risk that if China feels newly cornered over
COVID-19, it will once again respond with aggression – or with the
search for some kind of international diversion. The drive to
understand how the pandemic began is inevitable and necessary. It is
also dangerous. -- Financial Times, Australia
