What Trump praising China’s response to the coronavirus outbreak says about US foreign policy
- The US president lauded China’s ‘efforts and transparency’ in tackling the coronavirus even as his secretary of state highlighted the threat China poses to the world
- In the run-up to the presidential election, Trump will avoid rocking the boat further with China
As editors waited for the WHO’s widely expected decision to declare a global emergency, WHO managing director Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus prefaced the verdict with a lengthy paean to China for its alacrity and transparency in dealing with the deadly contagion.
Even discounting the possibility that politics blocked an earlier response that might have kept the new contagion in check, we need to question why so much time was spent lavishing praise on a government for doing what is so obviously in its own, and the world’s, best interests.
And while Tedros’ preface sounded as though it was drafted by Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the explanation for the emergency that was eventually announced aligned with Beijing’s messaging on another level.