‘No time for complacency’: China must admit its coronavirus mistakes, Chinese law professor warns
- In essay published on European website, Xu Zhangrun says the facts of the pandemic should be made public
- Academic laments loss of US leadership on the international stage under Donald Trump
The essay, “China’s lone boat in the ocean of world’s civilisations”, not only examined Beijing’s success and failures in handling the pandemic but also lamented that the US had surrendered its chance to lead the world in fighting the coronavirus.
“Since he has come to power, [US President] Donald Trump has returned to the Atlantic isolationist philosophy and surrendered the opportunity to be the leader of the world who can reshape global governance,” Xu wrote on the website run by overseas-based Chinese researchers.
“[I am afraid] the US will meet its downfall after this pandemic and its national strength will decline.
“Now the US has fallen … under the rule of Trump and it has become a superpower in name only … [The world] will soon move from the ‘American age’ to a ‘post-US’ era.”