Chinese Diplomacy and the Battle for Truth During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Struggle for Hegemony? /La diplomacia china y la batalla por la verdad durante la pandemia de COVID-19:

• Author: Delgado, Daniel Lemus
• Position: Texto en ingl

1. THE ORIGIN OF SARS-COV-2 AND THE CHALLENGE TO THE LEGITIMACY OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY

   On December 31st, 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission informed the World Health Organization ofan outbreak of twenty seven cases of a pneumonia-like illness (World Health Organization,2020a). The Chinese scientific community initially stated that the illness originated in the Hua Nan fish and seafood market, in the city of Wuhan (Rosenbaum, 2020). The World Health Organization named the new virus Sars-Cov-2 (World Health Organization, 2020b), with the Chinese government subsequently reporting that the first known case of a patient with Covid-19 appeared on November 17 (Ma, 2020). Although the initial response of the authorities in Hubei province was slow and erratic, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party soon took control of the situation through a powerful anti-corruption commission (Tian and Lee, 2020). The severity of the new infection was recognized by President Xi on January 20, when he claimed that the new virus was the most serious health problem to befall China since the founding of the People's Republic (Zheng, 2020). He declared that the COVID-19 outbreak has been the "hardest major public health emergency to contain since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949"; Xi proclaimed a "people's war" to fight this invisible enemy by mobilizing the force of the whole country (Xinhua, 2020). Months later, at a ceremony recognizing four distinguished officials for their efforts to contain the outbreak, Xi claimed victory over COVID-19, a challenge that he referred to as "an extraordinary and historic test". (Zhao and Liu, 2020)

   Paradoxically, at around the same time as the Sars-Cov-2 virus emerged at the beginning of the year, President Xi, in his discourse at the Central Party School, warned that the security and stability of China could be subjected to multiple national and international threats. He reasoned that China had to be prepared to face unpredictable events in a complicated international context, and that the most important task therefore for the party leadership should be maintaining political stability while simultaneously guiding the country along the path of development. Xi pointed out that the CCP needed to generate strategic initiatives in order to convert danger into security and transform threats into opportunities (People's Daily, 2019). He warned senior CCP officials that they should be on high alert for two specific types of incidents: "black swans" and "gray rhinos". For Xi, the latter correspond to known risks that are ignored, while the former are highly unforeseen events. He requested that party officials "be on guard against black swans, and be watchful for gray rhinos". Both gray rhinos and black swans could include social, political, ideological, economic, scientific and technological challenges, and even involve the CCP itself (Lam, 2019).

   The emergence of a new coronavirus presented a significant challenge to the leadership of the CCP (Rezková and Simalcík, 2020). The health emergency presented by the virus would test both the ability and leadership skills of the Chinese bureaucratic elite. The pandemic paralyzed the economy, restricted travel country-wide, delayed the start of classes, canceled international events, and postponed the work of the Consultative Assembly, which is arguably the most important annual political event in the country. In addition, the new virus gave rise to the largest mass-quarantine in human history (Wright, 2020). Just a few weeks after Xi's speech, it was clear that the CCP was facing an unexpected event: a black swan.

   On 30th January 2020, one month after the new virus was officially reported by the Chinese authorities, the World Health Organization declared it to be a global emergency (World Health Organization, 2020c). On the same day, the number of Chinese dead rose to 170, with 7,711 cases being reported nationwide (Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). An illness which was originally a localized problem in China began to emerge as a significant global challenge, and the international community began to judge China for the way the CCP had acted in the face of what was rapidly becoming a global health emergency. The US Vice President Mike Pence said that "China let the world down," and threatened the nation over how the virus had been handled, affirming the country "will be held accountable" for reported attempts to initially hide information about the outbreak (Stockler, 2020). In addition, the international context in which COVID-19 appeared was highly complex. The initial stages of the economic reform period in China were characterized by economic openness and restructuring, as the country gradually entered the international economy and become a global economic powerhouse. However, there has been no attempt to democratize the Chinese regime (Lee, Lee and Chang, 2015), and the international environment in the last few years has been characterized by growing mistrust. The economic rise of China has been accompanied by increasing perceptions, particularly in the United States, that the nation poses a serious threat (Canrong, 2011). While geopolitical conflicts on the edge of Chinese territory have increased, Chinese investment in Africa and Latin America is increasingly being viewed with suspicion. The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States in 2016 has only served to exacerbate the differences between the two countries, and has ultimately given rise to several conflicts between them, in addition to a trade war (Bown, 2019).

   More significant even than the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on the health of the Chinese population and the very real threat ofresulting economic paralysis, was the issue of the legitimacy of the CCP. A poorly-managed crisis had the capacity to expose the limits, weaknesses, and contradictions of the Chinese political system and could ultimately pave the way for the eventual collapse of the regime. Significant questions arose over the whether or not the CCP leadership, constrained by the structures ofa one-party system, would be able to overcome the crisis. It appeared unlikely that the leadership of the CCP would emerge stronger after the pandemic had passed.

   As Xi had warned, the apparent stability of the Chinese regime could be rocked at any time. A highly unexpected event such as the emergence of COVID-19 could prove to be the Achilles' heel of the ruling party. Within a very short period of time President Xi and the fifth generation of CCP leaders found themselves battling on two distinct fronts simultaneously, in a changing and complex international environment. On one hand, the goal was to contain the virus and begin the process of economic recovery. On the other hand there was the desire to win the global narrative and represent China as a nation which had acted responsibly and in solidarity with others. This article proposes that the fight waged by the Chinese government for control of the global narrative surrounding the pandemic is aimed essentially at strengthening the leadership and legitimacy of the CCP inside China, rather than being a race for world hegemony. This being the case, the diplomatic strategy followed by the Chinese authorities focused on both maintaining and increasing the political legitimacy of the CCP at home.

   The organization of this article comprehends four sections. Firstly, I discuss the relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and Foreign Policy. Later, I analyze Michael Foucault's concept of truth to understand how this theoretical approach can help analyze Chinese diplomacy. In the next section, I discuss the implementation of "Wolf Warrior Diplomacy" and "Mask Diplomacy" to spread a global narrative portraying China as a responsible nation. Finally, I conclude that the primary aim of the Chinese political elite is to strengthen the legitimacy of the Chinese government by imposing a narrative on the origin of the virus as part of the construction of a concept of truth.

2. THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY AND FOREIGN POLICY

   My starting point to understand Chinese diplomacy during the outbreak is the assumption that one of the main motivations of the Chinese government is the search for political legitimacy. Consequently, the quest for this recognition determined China's diplomacy during the outbreak. To a large extent, what the Chinese government did or did not do in the international arena through its diplomatic channels has the main purpose of increasing China's international prestige. This prestige is another way to strengthen the legitimacy of the CCP within China. In other words, traditionally, the CCP has wanted to maintain relatively stable external relationships in order to provide conditions for resolve China's internal problems, and any challenge to this situation implies a risk for the power of CCP (Lampton, 2008). Thus, the design and implementation offoreign policy depend on the perspective of the CCP, whose ultimate goal is to generate the conditions of legitimacy and stability of the political regime.

   China has a one-party state system characterized as "fragmented authoritarianism" (Brødsgaard, 2018). However, China remains a highly hierarchical political system (Brown, 2014). The CCP has nearly ninety million members; around 70 percent of them are men; in addition, 30 percent of its membership are farmers, herdsmen, and fishermen (Albert, Xu and Maizland, 2020). Although the party's policies have changed over time, the structure remains intact (Larus, 2012). Founded in 1921, the CCP has a long history and has been in power since the triumph of communism in 1949 (Uhalley, 1988). During its rule the CCP has faced formidable challenges, some of which have called into question the legitimacy of its rule. A critical factor favoring the continued rule of the party however is its policy of...