SOFT POWER DETERIORATING FACTORS IN CHINA
These days, there are strong signs that the US-China competition will climb. The competition, which has recently demonstrated itself in the form of trade wars, will be moved to new heights due to contradictory claims on the source of the virus and the Trump Administration’s desire to pay the price for its pandemic to China. As some analysts suggest, it is not possible to keep China out of the global economy, but it is not wrong to imagine that the United States will come together with other states that think like it and use pandemic as leverage against China. In other news, China appears to be quite determined by the West’s mismanagement of the outbreak, in its position that the virus is not caused by its own territory. .China is a campaign to gain sympathy in Western cities with medical assistance. The United States, which left global leadership during the pandemic, was criticized by many. Although it is difficult to determine which will prevail over the other, it can be claimed that the US-Chinese competition will have an impact on many issues in international relations during the post-virus period.
Although it is still too early to see whether the global economic crisis will change the balance of economic power between Washington and Beijing, it is evident that it has affected their relationship in a negative way. The crisis strengthened the current situation of already tense relationships rather than co-operation. Due to criticism of the widespread unemployment and crisis management, President Trump attacks China even more strongly as the November elections approach. Trump particularly described the disease as “Chinese virus” as a result of a government-controlled laboratory in Wuhan. The Trump administration is also investigating the possibility of suing against the Chinese government. On the other hand, the Chinese administration may be concerned that the end of decades of economic expansion would weaken its legitimacy within the country. Nationalism here can be an effective strategy for maintaining legitimacy.
Some Chinese officials have already criticized the United States and accused it of spreading the virus to China. This seems to be an obstacle for China, which is trying to restore its soft power, in which China is discredited. We should also consider China’s ability to recover, while evaluating the impact of the crisis on the economy. China’s dependence on exports can have negative economic effects. Many countries, including the United States, will want to avoid the risks posed by the crisis in the global supply chain. This means revitalizing local production and narrowing the export markets of China products globally. In turn, China can strive to develop a structure based on internal consumption and invest more in the Generation and Road Initiative. This will likely lead to a division of domains. China, which could lose power due to its economic instability, will again be involved in danger.
SOFT POWER INCREASING FACTORS IN CHINA
All in all, Samir Saran from the Observatory Research Foundation (ORF) in India underlines the absence of American leadership during the COVID-19 outbreak, considers China a leading contender and critics of a global disorder in which many communities have to deal with the terrible consequences of pandemic. Yiwei Wang of the University of Renmin in China has called for further ideological restrictions and encourages global innovation in scientific systems to deal with global crises such as COVID-19.
Unemployment rates are rising in almost every country, with anxiety and uncertainty. In developing countries, increasing poverty and lack of nutrition have been a waste of decades of meticulously maintained work to reduce poverty. The World Bank estimates that about 23 million people, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, can be dragged into poverty. In this sense, China’s continued plans for Africa have increased its soft power.
Finally, the COVID-9 crisis will lead to the re-empowerment of nationalism and further weaken the role of nation extremists, such as the European Union. We have seen for years the rise of populist movements in Europe that demand more autonomy than Brussels. The epidemic has strengthened this trend by teaching Europeans that when it comes to a serious crisis, the nation’s overtech Democrats are useless and that every country has to rely on its resources at its most necessary time. However, the rise of new nationalism is also seen in Modi’s India, Xi’s China and Netanyahu’s Israel. So this political ideology of China will show a sympathetic world.
But all this does not show that China will lead the world order after the COVID-19 crisis. Leading the world order requires more than achieving high growth rates or proclaiming victory over a virus.
CONCLUSION
As an international community, when we see the end of the tunnel for the ongoing outbreak, we will be in a better position to be able to assess more realistic damage. So we can measure the actual impact of pandemic on the headings and rising currents in international relations. However, it is important to make some preliminary assessments as the steps taken today — or not — by governments and the global structure — determine the opportunities and tests they will face in the future. Similarly, there is a strong link between the performance of governments in fighting pandemic and the analysis of global politics after COVID-19. At the same time, after pandemic, developing a sustainable vision and providing local and global support for this vision is vital for governments. The roles and capacities of governments within the global system will have a significant impact on their future positions.
The soft force of the United States has been hit more by President Trump’s attitude toward global issues and some of the impressions he has made. Late in the big power game, China has made great progress in the international arena. The COVID-19 crisis seems to be working better for China for now. Leading global efforts against the Ebola outbreak in the first period of 2010, the United States abandoned its position of global leadership in the current crisis. Moreover, the fact that it was much less effective in controlling the virus than in China has weakened its soft power. Moreover, public health steps in many countries, including democracies, have cast a shadow on basic freedoms.
This has given more legitimacy to government systems, including China, which prefer security rather than freedoms. The rapid step-down on the basic principles of the EU, such as easy cross-border crossing, reveals the borders of the liberal model, which the United States traditionally defended, and perhaps even its failures. On the other hand, China’s image was hit when authorities in Wuhan discovered that they were hiding information about the beginning of Coronavirus. The soft power gains of both great powers will depend on their success in creating and spreading a rhetoric that will transform their image into mortal.
Yaşam Ayavefe
