Coronavirus: between the United States and China, a cold war lasting several months

Mysterious origin of the virus, vaccines, disinformation ... Between the United States and China, all fronts are equal to send spikes in the middle of a coronavirus epidemic. This Thursday, the tension went up a notch American side: Donald Trump threatened to break "any relationship" with China.

Since this winter, Washington and Beijing, already in a trade war, have been constantly bickering over the responsibility and the seriousness of the epidemic. It all starts in early February. Sars-CoV-2 has just caused several hundred deaths in China, and the rest of the world is just beginning to worry about a pandemic. Washington then decides to prohibit the entry of all non-resident travelers arriving from China.

Vexations and conspiracy theories

Beijing gets upset and accuses the Americans of "creating and spreading panic, which is a very bad example," in the words of Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry.

In March, when conspiracy theories about the virus abound on the Internet, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian hinted on Twitter that the US military could have introduced the virus to China in October during Wuhan Military World Games. In France, the Chinese Embassy gets involved in the game and relays these accusations on the Internet.

Comment: the United States must answer three questions related to the COVID-19 epidemic (1/4) https://t.co/rnbNvPU2Rr… #coronavirus # COVID19 pic.twitter.com/jQXZPNoszR

Did Donald Trump Hear These Critics? One would think so, given his tweets, where he uses the term "Chinese virus" to warm up Beijing. China denounces expressions "racist and xenophobic to blame the epidemic on other countries".

The battle for vaccines

In mid-March, the Americans announced that a first clinical trial of a vaccine was under way in Seattle, Washington state. A few days later, it was China's turn to announce vaccine trials on patients in Wuhan, the cradle of the epidemic. In a resolutely nationalist tone, an editorial in the Chinese newspaper Global Times defends that "the development of a vaccine is a battle that China cannot afford to lose".

In the United States, concern is growing. At the end of March, the country officially became the most affected in number of cases. And eyes are on China's weak figures, as Wuhan gradually comes out of containment. Donald Trump wonders: "Their figures seem a little underestimated, and I'm nice when I say that," he pretends to confide to the press.

It doesn't matter if, in the American press, we read that the American secret services warned the administration at the end of November 2019 about the epidemic. For Donald Trump, the person responsible for the epidemic in the United States, it is China… and the WHO.

WHO loses 400 million

The ax fell on April 14 on the World Health Organization. Its first lessor, Washington, withdraws $ 400 million from it. His wrong? The UN agency would have reacted too late to the epidemic, and would have blindly supported China. In response, Beijing will offer $ 30 million in compensation to the WHO.

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The dispute does not prevent the American figures from going up. The country quickly becomes the most seriously affected in terms of death toll. In the American press, we discover a theory which, until then, was only attributed to conspiracy groups on social networks: what if the virus had escaped from a Wuhan laboratory? Diplomatic letters and "secret sources" say the idea is plausible, according to a Washington Post columnist and pro-Trump Fox News.

Beijing completely denies. "Many reputable medical experts around the world believe that the supposed leak has no scientific basis," said spokesman Zhao Lijian.

Meanwhile, an Associated Press investigation reveals that China has been slow to respond to the epidemic. In January, the government waited six days to inform the public of a "serious situation". The information was later confirmed by the German intelligence services, quoted in the Spiegel. Deputy Minister of Health Li Bin will later admit that there are "gaps" in her protocols.

Sanctions against China?

On the other side of the Atlantic, we get annoyed. The state of Missouri has announced that it will file a lawsuit against China, accusing it of having concealed "crucial information" at the start of the epidemic.

At the end of April, Donald Trump wants to see China pay thousands of dollars in repairs for the damage caused by the virus. "We will never forget those people who were sacrificed because of incompetence, or perhaps something else," the disease "could have been stopped at the source," he said. Senators from his camp will even introduce a bill to that effect.

China immediately replies. "US politicians have repeatedly ignored the truth and have spoken shameless lies," said Geng Shuang, another spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry.

Speculations on the P4 lab

At the same time, despite the reservations of the American and German intelligence services on this subject, Donald Trump returns to the charge on the rumor of the origin of the virus, supposedly from the P4 laboratory in Wuhan.

Once Upon a Virus ... pic.twitter.com/FY0svfEKc6

To make fun of it, the Chinese Embassy in France is publishing a short video entitled "Once upon a time there was a virus". Imitating the codes of a puppet theater, the extract features characters from Lego, symbolizing China and the rest of the world. At the heart of the jokes, the United States, made up into a statue of Liberty, ignoring the alerts from China for several months.

Donald Trump insists that he has "evidence". Its Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, adds: “China is known for its propensity to infect the world and to use laboratories which do not respect standards. […] It is not the first time that the world has been endangered by viruses from Chinese laboratories. ” Nothing to worry about Beijing. "If Trump has evidence, let him show it!" "Then replies the Chinese ambassador to France in our columns. "It is a shame to see that some people in the United States blame others instead of taking responsibility," said spokeswoman Hua Chunying, for her part.

Espionage and disinformation

WHO, for its part, denies the theory of the United States. "We have not received any specific data or evidence from the United States government regarding the suspected origin of the virus, so this remains speculative for us," said Irishman Michael Ryan, director of emergency programs at the United States, on May 5 'WHO, Geneva (Switzerland).

It is now on the spy front that the countries have decided to quarrel this week. It is the US FBI which begins this Wednesday, accusing hackers, researchers and students close to China of stealing information from academic institutes and public laboratories for the benefit of Beijing.

"Judging by their track record, the United States has conducted the largest Internet theft operations worldwide," spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Thursday.

The war would also be waged, in parallel, on social networks. A week ago, Lea Gabrielle, coordinator of the US State Department center responsible for analyzing and countering foreign propaganda, pointed to Chinese propaganda attempts worthy of Russian methods. The diplomat describes an increased use of "software to develop Chinese theses on social networks", with a new "artificial" network of "non-authentic Twitter accounts created with the aim of amplifying Chinese propaganda and disinformation".

Consequences on all geopolitics

The other countries are not immune to these bickering. At the United Nations, negotiations on a global cease-fire because of the pandemic have stalled. The reason ? A last-minute veto opposed by the United States, which does not want to sign a text emphasizing the importance of the role of WHO, deemed too favorable to the Chinese.

Germany and Estonia proposed a new text this Tuesday without said mention. But this time, China is threatening not to sign. Something to heat up, too, the rest of the planet.