China’s Public Diplomacy at Home Concerning Covid-19 & its Impact on the World (Essay Sample)

Covid-19: China’s Public Diplomacy
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Covid-19: China’s Public Diplomacy at Home and Abroad
The emergence of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan China in early December 2019 openly placed the country in international headlines. The first case of the virus in the city led to a host of activities by the Chinese central government aimed at developing an internal and external strategy to communicate with both its nationals and the world at large (Catalina, 2021). The World Health Organization would early in 2020 declare the disease a global health emergency and later a pandemic that required global measures and protocols to contain it. In ensuing geopolitical positions and comments about the origin of the virus, China developed an information strategy to enhance its position despite the growing criticism against its handling of the virus that led to its spread when nations in different parts of the world started registering cases. While the real source of the SARS-CoV-2 has not been identified, reports suggested that it spread from a wet market or a live animal market. By September 2020, China had undertaken different measures to change the Covid-19 narrative, both internally and abroad, to disassociate itself from the virus using various forms of media through its public diplomacy (Rudolf, 2021). For instance, it launched a campaign that was propagated by its embassies in different parts of the world questioning the origins of the novel virus. China blamed the U.S. for spreading the virus and failing to take draconian measures to control the disease and claimed that it was victorious in combating Covid-19. Further, China offered aid through the mask diplomacy to countries as part of the public diplomacy on the Covid-19 pandemic. The essence of this paper is to evaluate China’s public diplomacy in relation to the emergence of the Covid-19 disease.
China’s Public Diplomacy at Home Concerning Covid-19 & its Impact on the World
In her article, Wong (2020) chronicles the Chinese government’s information diplomacy as part of its public diplomacy about the Covid-19 disease pandemic. Wong asserts that in the midst of increased efforts by the U.S to check on authoritarian foreign influence, Beijing had been developing and mounting its unique information campaigns in efforts to alter and shape the global narrative. Wong opined that such narratives are propagated by both official channels and traditional state media through a host of mechanisms, including an aggressive approach called “wolf warrior” and amplified by a growing manipulation of social media platforms within the country. Wong (2020) asserts that recent crises like the emergence and handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong protests illustrate Beijing’s efforts to control information within its territories.
In his speech at the symposium on the International Situation and China’s Foreign Relations on December 11 in Beijing, the Chinese foreign secretary emphasized the importance of public diplomacy that the country took and continues to take in combating the novel coronavirus disease (Yi, 2020). The minister was categorical that the nation’s public diplomacy was essential in its ability to contain the virus and control its spread (Yi, 2020). Through the measures that the country took, including disinformation on the state of healthcare workers who reported initial cases of the novel disease, the country reopened and was the first to declare victory over the pandemic. The minister stated that China carried out international cooperation against COVID-19 through different activities. Among these is the creation of a global vision and a robust sense of responsibility through its leaders who engaged in intensive state diplomacy with other leaders across the world. The implication is that China’s public diplomacy on Covid-19 was intensive and meant to position the country in a positive way and image at the international level despite increased criticism from different leaders and countries.
Many experts believe that China’s public diplomacy on Covid-19 is a critical part of its overall foreign policy aimed at increasing its international influence and geopolitical position in different parts of the world and at home (Verma, 2020). However, proponents at home believe that public diplomacy has worked to convince the people about efforts by the government to prioritize the interests of the Chinese people on key issues such as health by protecting them from the adverse effects of pandemics such as Covid-19. An article by China Daily in November 2020 asserts that Chinese public diplomacy continues to shine despite the outbreak of Covid-19 and the increased international criticism that the country received. The article notes that that in a recent plenum of the 19th Communist Party of China Central Committee, speakers emphasized the significance of containing the virus for the benefit of the international community and global economy as such efforts would allow China to resume complete economic activities. Further, China adhered to effective public diplomacy that helped nations across the world to combat the adverse effects of the pandemic (China Daily November, 2020). As such, from soft power intervention to developing global actions, China successfully executed its public diplomacy during the pandemic to contain it and demonstrated to the world that they could take similar measures to contain the virus.
Initially, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared covid-19 a public health emergency of international concern in late January 2020, the country reviewed its situation and identified the need for effective control and safety actions. Through these actions, it instilled confidence in the public about the government’s capability to deal with the outbreak (Cheshmehzangi & Zhaohui, 2020). The implication is that mutual trust between state actors and the people has increased since the initial days of the disease and remains a critical factor that helped authorities to manage and contain the spread of the virus across the vast nation. Secondly, the world watched with increased interest and apprehension when the Chinese government announced and publicized the construction of two emergency makeshift hospitals in Wuhan, which was the epicenter of the virus. The country was celebrating its Spring Festival at that time and about to begin its Lunar New Year. The live reporting of the construction of the two facilities mirrored the ability and capacity of the government to respond to public emergencies. To many critics and opponents, this remains a public diplomacy stance. The implication is that the timely response to the health emergency, including the completion of the two facilities on