Abstract
In a keynote speech delivered from Beijing to the World Economic Forum on 17 January 2022, President Xi Jinping declared that “We need to discard the Cold War mentality and seek peaceful coexistence and win–win outcomes”. This statement is illustrative of the heightened geopolitical tensions between China and the West, particularly the United States. The 180-degree turn from “Chimerica” (a neologism coined in 2006 to describe the economically symbiotic relationship between China and the United States) to the “New Cold War” has resulted in a “clash of empires” in the 2010s and 2020s. This chapter examines how the creeping “Cold-War mentality” has spilled over to the global public health sector in the form of cold-war battles of narratives about China and COVID-19.
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Notes
- 1.
A good example are the statements of China’s Ambassador to Paris, Lu Shaye, who was summoned by the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in April 2020. The Chinese embassy in Paris had posted in its website and in social media a series of acerbic statements. In particular, an article stated that “residents of retirement homes were made to sign certificates of ‘waiver of emergency care’; the nursing staff of the Ehpad [state-sponsored elderly homes in France] abandoned their posts overnight, deserted collectively, leaving their residents to die of hunger and disease”. China became embroiled in Twitter disputes not only in Europe, but also in several countries across continents. In Sri Lanka, the Chinese embassy’s Twitter account was shut because of inflammatory posts. It had posted, “when westerners publish their opinions, it’s called freedom of speech, no matter how false. When Chinese say something different from them, it’s called a disinformation campaign. Hilarious double standards”. The Chinese ambassador to Cyprus said the world was embarrassed by how quickly China had solved the virus outbreak and had resorted to “blame shifting and lies”. In another post he wrote: “Sad to see #Boris [Johnson] tested positive and confirmed cases surpassing 100 k in U.S. Hope it’s not the result of herd immunity policy”—as opposed to China’s zero COVID-19 approach.
- 2.
We have used local newspapers in English, French, and Arabic languages, published in the Middle Eastern and North African region, including but not limited to: Africanews, Al-Ahram, Al-Araby, Agence Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP), Alanbat News, Algérie Presse Service (APS), Al Jazeera, Al Monitor, Asharq el-Awsat, Arab News, Arabian Business, Bahrain News Agency, Al Arabiya, Daily Sabah, El Moudjahid, Emirates News Agency, Gulf News, Haartz, Hurriyet Daily News, Khaleej Times, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Israel21, Jordan Times, Le Matin, L’Orient-Le-Jour, Le Temps, Lebanon News, Lybia Observer, Morocco World News, Oman Observer, Public Radio of Armenia, Syrian Chinese Business Council, Tehran Times, Times of Oman, Times of Israel, Tout Sur l’Algérie (TSA), Qatar Airways, etc.
- 3.
Yan Xuetong (2019: 48–53) argues that, based on its ancient philosophical thinking as well as contemporary attempts to differentiate itself from hegemonic powers, China may achieve humane authority (王道) (moral realism) if it can persuade followers that it is indeed a benevolent and just state.
- 4.
Initial tensions with Turkey regarding masks imported from China, and a controversial labelling on medical supplies boxes featuring Ararat Mountain, were rapidly resolved. Iranian officials, too, initially criticized China for the “inaccurate” statement about COVID-19, depicting it as a “bitter joke”. There were isolated cases of anti-Chinese sentiments in Morocco and Egypt following the effects of the epidemic in the region (Zoubir, 2020).
- 5.
The E.U.–China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, agreed to by negotiators in December 2020 after seven years of talks, aimed to put E.U. companies on an equal footing in China and cement Beijing’s status as a trusted trading partner. The European Parliament halted in May 2021 (with 599 votes in favour, 30 votes against, and 58 abstentions) the ratification of the long-awaited investment pact with China until Beijing lifts the sanctions that it had imposed on 10 E.U. politicians, think-tanks, and diplomats two months earlier, in response to Western sanctions against Chinese officials accused of the mass detentions of Muslim Uyghurs in northwestern China. This exacerbated the dispute in Sino–European relations.
- 6.
While European businesses (Authors’ exchanges with European business communities and diplomats, 2020, 2021, and 2022; Kine, 2022), the World Health Organization (Rigby & Mason, 2022), and the International Monetary Fund (Bay, 2022) were critical of China’s zero-COVID policy, the M.E.N.A. countries have been silent on the issue. M.E.N.A. countries continue to rely on China’s advice or expertise on how to contain COVID-19.
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Tran, E., Zoubir, Y.H. (2023). China’s Health Diplomacy in the “New-Cold-War” Era: Contrasting the Battle of Narratives in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. In: Tan, K.P. (eds) Asia in the Old and New Cold Wars. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7681-0_7
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