Policy Alert #207 | April 8, 2020
As the number of confirmed coronavirus COVID-19 cases worldwide surges past the one million mark, containing the pandemic has overshadowed most other issues in both national and international politics. Emergency teleconferences of leaders of the Group of 7 (G7) and the Group of 20 (G20) have attempted to coordinate their efforts to combat the pandemic and salvage the world economy from a virtual shutdown in the wake of widespread social distancing and quarantine policies, but to little avail. In this RPI Policy Alert, we review how the Rising Powers are responding to the pandemic.
CHINA
As China reports that its number of new coronavirus infections are on the decline, it has begun to focus its efforts on providing assistance abroad amdist charges of it being politcally driven. On March 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that aid has so far been sent to 82 countries, the World Health Organization, and the African Union. A New York Times op-ed from Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai estimated that five million masks, 200,000 test kits, and 180,000 gloves had been donated to the US alone. In his speech during the G20 emergency teleconference, President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to for the G20 to work together to not only fight the virus, but protect the global economy: “I want to call on all G20 members to take collective actions – cutting tariffs, removing barriers, and facilitating the unfettered flow of trade. Together, we can send a strong signal and restore confidence for global economic recovery.” At a press conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Hua Chunying was critical of claims that China’s aid to other countries has political motivations: “Recently I have been hearing some people in the West raising the issue of Chinese ‘political propaganda’, and I would like to ask what on earth are they referring to? Do they want China to sit idle and do nothing while other countries are braving the pandemic with so many people suffering and the number of casualties climbing higher with each passing day?” In response to a question regarding Taiwan’s donations of masks and other supplies to the US, Europe, and other countries, Spokesperson Hua suggested it was Taiwan that was pushing a political agenda: “[I]f my memory serves me right, when the epidemic first broke out in China’s mainland, Taiwan authorities banned the export of masks. Now as we can see, the situation in the US is very severe, Chinese provinces, cities and businesses have been providing assistance to the American people. If the Taiwan region can and wants to help, I believe we are all glad to see it. But if anyone in Taiwan seeks to politicize the pandemic, I would advise them to think twice and act prudently.” When a reporter from RIA Novosti, a Russian media outlet, asked for more details about a recent donation from China to Russia, Spokesperson Hua made a point to first thank the Russian press for “widely and accurately covering the Chinese government’s effective epidemic response with professionalism and dedication”. Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong announced in a tweet that a donation of coronavirus test kits from Chinese business magnate Jack Ma and Alibaba Foundations had been delivered to the Indian Red Cross Society on April 3.
- The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, dismissed accusations of ulterior motives in providing aid to other countries to fight the virus in a rather arrogant tone: “To be honest, the accusations and attacks from Western media against China are not unusual. Certain people will always find fault with whatever China does. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the unhealthy mindset of certain people in the West, who just can’t accept the fact that China has prevailed over the virus while their own country has become a virus battlefield.”
- The state-supported China Daily similarly condemned comments between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as an effort to “revive the Cold War”: “Their remarks are an opportunistic attempt to put more bricks in the wall they are trying to build between the West and its self-imagined enemies. [..A]ll they are doing is tilting at windmills.”
- The nationalist Global Times characterized the virus as an equalizer and called on the US to abandon any political ambitions in its response: “The COVID-19 pandemic clearly shows that the biggest threat to the US is no longer from geopolitics, but from the natural world, as it is the case to all people. […] As long as the US faces up to this fact, it can concentrate its strength to launching a decisive battle against the coronavirus.”
INDIA
After calling for Indians to self-enforce social distancing guidelines and observe a daily curfew on March 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a nationwide stay-at-home order for 21 days that began on March 24: “India is at a stage where our current actions will determine how much we are able to minimize the impact of this disaster. […] This is the time for patience and discipline. Until the lockdown situation remains, we must keep our resolve, we must keep our promise.” With India’s population of 1.3 billion people, this marks the largest social “lockdown” in the world. Roll-out of the policies has been bumpy: millions of migrant workers have attempted to return home as their employers shuttered, truck drivers were left essentially stranded as inter-state travel restrictions began, and health workers have suffered resistance to the setting-up of hospitals to treat COVID-19 and assault by panicked locals in their efforts.
- The liberal Hindustan Times expressed support for the government’s decision to prioritize aid to the country’s most vulnerable first, but emphasized that relief was needed elsewhere as well: “While it is only understandable that the government look to the most vulnerable first, some reassurance of forthcoming relief for businesses wouldn’t have hurt. […] Businesses, small and large, self-employed professionals, the salaried (and tax-paying) middle-class, all need help.”
- The left-leaning Hindu emphasized individuals’ responsibility to cooperate with government efforts to fight the virus, including sharing travel information with local authorities: “Humanitarian crises such as pandemics invoke the worst among men and women, but also their best. The latter is eminently possible, as long as people believe that the enemy is the pandemic, and act responsibly.”
- The centrist Times of India called for more help for migrant workers: “A high degree of inter-state cooperation is indeed the need of the hour. To save citizens from one disease we cannot let hunger, exhaustion and other diseases prey on them.”
- The pro-government Daily Pioneer outlined the lessons to be learned from China, Japan, and South Korea in their response to the outbreak in order to prevent the health system from being overwhelmed: “Like us, all these countries have high population densities with a high propagation possibility. And like us, they all belong to an Asian culture. It is from these examples that we can draw as, though we are frail on health infrastructure, we can leverage technology to work out enforceable pre-emptive protocols.”
JAPAN
Prime Minister Abe emphasized two key points that needed to be included in the G20’s response to the virus: accelerate the process of developing antiviral medicines through cooperation between the respective governments as well as actors in the private sector and for the Group to “implement bold and large-scale economic and fiscal policies.” Although the National Diet passed an amendment to the Act on Special Measures for Pandemic Influenza and New Infectious Diseases Preparedness and Response to allow the government to implement “various measures to prevent the wide spread [sic] of infection and maintain societal functions” on March 13, 2020, a state of emergency was not declared until April 6 and applies only to Tokyo, Osaka, and five prefectures.
- The progressive Asahi Shimbun criticized the government’s patchwork of measures to offset the effects of the virus so far as insufficient: “[T]here are still vulnerable elements in the system, including a large number of non-regular workers. […] The government needs to provide sufficient financial support to businesses that have been shut down and workers who have seen their incomes drop.”
- The left-leaning Mainichi also characterized the government’s response as “blunt and slow” and lamented that any efforts to protect the economy now would be too little, too late: “[W]e are now at the point in this pandemic when preventing the virus’ spread must take greater priority than stimulating economic activity. Building a policy around boosting demand is unlikely to have much effect right now.”
- The center-right Japan Times instead focused its attention on the government’s need to communicate the threat of the virus with the public and build trust to ensure compliance for social distancing measures: “To gain such public support, the Japanese government must disclose information and data about the current situation as well as its future strategy to tackle the pandemic. After all, to bring everyone on board, trust in the government is indispensable.”
- While the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun also advocated for more government support in its recent editorials, its call for the Self-Defence Forces to prepare for more widespread mobilization to fight the pandemic set it apart: “The SDF must shape an action plan under the declaration of a state of emergency, assuming various situations. It is necessary to flexibly operate ground, maritime and air forces nationwide.”
RUSSIA
In a public address on April 2, 2020, President Vladimir Putin announced that the initial “non-work week” would be extended until at least April 30, but emphasized that regional and local governments could decide to strengthen or relax current policies depending on the “objective situation” locally. As the combined economic pain produced by a reduced demand for oil due to coronavirus and OPEC’s retaliatory surge in production to drive prices down following a dispute with Russia has continued to take its toll on the Russian economy, President Putin held a teleconference with relevant Russian officials to ask for “advice on what actions we should take and how we should hold consultations with our partners to work out a concerted approach.”
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova was dismissive of a report by Reuters that an internal European Union document warned of a fake news campaign originating from Russia: “I think the allegations that Russia is spreading disinformation and fake news about the coronavirus in Europe and the world are perfect examples of disinformation and fake news.” Regarding claims that Russian aid to Italy were made with ulterior geopolitical motives, Zakharova replied: “[T]his is real, burning jealousy that a country that is not tied to Italy by any blocs or alliances is developing friendly relations with it against all odds and is ready to offer help during one of the most dramatic moments of recent Italian history, without regard for the political context or views on the development of international relations in Europe, but out of a recognition of how the Italians are suffering”. At one press conference, Zakharova highlighted how the response to the coronavirus has helped strengthen ties between Moscow and Beijing: “At the most acute stage of China’s fight against the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, Moscow was one of the first to come to the aid of its Chinese friends. Now we are getting assistance from Beijing.”
Spokesperson Zakharova also provided a reprieve from an otherwise heavy press conference by offering a lighthearted response to a fake news piece on the government’s methods to encourage social distancing: “[T]he joke you quoted from the internet that Russian President Vladimir Putin will release tigers and lions on the streets is actually funny: not because it couldn’t happen, but because traditionally we set bears loose on the streets – they are more effective.”
- Government-funded RT is one of the sources of fake and misleading news, as op-eds with suggestive headlines claim that the economic crisis is behind the EU’s decision to approve foodstuffs produced from insects (the effort to change these regulations began years ago), that government responses to the virus are evidence of a plot by left-wing extremists to “abolish the family,” and that climate change activists see the virus as “an instrument for realising the dream of a society that runs according to climate alarmists’ dogma.”
- State-owned Sputnik News published an interview with Iztok Preszelj, Chair of Defence Studies and a member of Defence Research Centre at the University of Ljubljana, who argued that the pandemic is an opportunity to “melt” relations between Russia and NATO. Sputnik also highlighted a report from University of Tehran American studies and postcolonial literature professor Sayyed Mohammad Marandi that Iran’s handling of the pandemic has been “significantly better than in the US” despite operating under economic sanctions.
- In an op-ed for the independent, Dutch-based Moscow Times, former digital director of the New York-based Russian language RTVI channel Ilya Klishin suggested that President Putin’s decision to delegate the handling of the pandemic to local officials was an effort to preserve his image: “Putin has a reputation for not liking to associate himself directly with measures that citizens find harsh or unpleasant, so he probably delegated the task to Sobyanin and essentially gave the mayor carte blanche — knowing that he could always correct whatever missteps [Moscow Mayor Sergei] Sobyanin might make.”
- In his op-ed for the Moscow Times, Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center Dmitry Trenin argued that the global response to the pandemic is solidifying the Russian government’s worldview: “[T]he Kremlin sees some effects of the outbreak as validating the correctness of its worldview. The fragility of globalism has been underscored as the international community grows more fractious and the liberal order recedes.”
RPI acknowledges support from the MacArthur Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York for its activities.
