Clash of the titans: how the coronavirus became the new China-US battleground
- Rather than joining forces to subdue the pathogen, Beijing and Washington have used the pandemic to try to score points against each other
- The health crisis has shifted attention away from other areas conflict – but only temporarily, observers say
Hit hard by the pandemic, both countries have effectively been in a national emergency, looking to cut travel links and isolate themselves from the coronavirus.
But instead of leading the world in the face of a global public health threat that has already killed more than 6,000 people, they are locked in great power competition, determined to view each other through a lens of conspiracy theories and hostility.
Since the coronavirus broke out in China late last year, the two countries have markedly dialled up the rhetoric against each other, trading stinging barbs on everything from the origin of the virus, and whether American medical experts should be allowed to visit Wuhan to who should be blamed for the pandemic.
Before the disease erupted, Beijing and Washington were already at odds over a host of hot-button issues, such as the trade war, the South China Sea, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and the fate of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
The pandemic could have been a chance to improve those deeply fraught relations, slowing the United States and China down on their tragic, headlong collision course.