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What influence does Corona have on world powers? China expert Mareike Ohlberg speaks in “NZZ Standpunkte” about Europe’s dependence on the Middle Kingdom, evidence destroyed in Wuhan, and says why China now faces multiple countries.
Hardly any other country has tamed the pandemic as well as China. At least that is what the country itself claims, but is it really true? And has the coronavirus exacerbated geopolitical conflicts? Sinologist Mareike Ohlberg is one of China’s leading experts in German-speaking countries. She believes that the pandemic will have long-term consequences for the world order. China has been infiltrating Western democracies for a long time. A trend that will now intensify. In the latest issue of “NZZ Standpunkte” with NZZ Editor-in-Chief Eric Gujer and political philosopher Katja Gentinetta, Ohlberg talks about the Chinese government’s attempts to pressure, and explains why Trump’s policy on China can work .
“The political climate in the country is extremely tense,” says Ohlberg. The people of China are clearly feeling the economic troubles that have triggered the crown crisis and the trade war. “This is a big problem for a party that gets its legitimacy from economic growth.” The government is nervous. Therefore, Ohlberg expects even stronger political repression from the Communist Party in the future.
Eric Gujer wants to know from his guest if it is a coincidence that the corona pandemic, like others before it, started in China. Of course, pandemics could also emerge in other countries, Ohlberg says, but two points would favor an outbreak: First, people and animals lived together in Chinese markets like Wuhan. And second, the government has already downplayed outbreaks like Sars before and now again with Corona. This favored the spread of the virus. Furthermore, the leadership shows no interest in clarifying the true origins of the pandemic. “To this day we don’t know exactly where the virus came from, because the evidence was destroyed directly by the market.”
China is new to many countries
Covid-19 also made its mark politically. The Communist Party has always been successful in not messing with many different countries at the same time, he says. But always with a few who would have acted as a deterrent example. “But now many countries are having similar experiences thanks to Corona. You can tell: the relationship is not as friendly as it always is. “
The trade war with the US has recently been accompanied by the dispute over Tiktok and Huawei. “Trump did a lot of things right, even for the wrong reasons,” Ohlberg says. She doesn’t think Trump is strategic or even acting out of idealism. Rather, the president of the United States uses human rights violations as leverage in the trade war. “That is not ideal, but the course itself is correct.” China, on the other hand, is trying to strengthen its influence around the world, also with threats, for example, in the course of “protective mask diplomacy”. The Chinese government wants to show the West: “We are the system of the 21st century.” And if you now hear that Western countries look to China in admiration when it comes to dealing with the pandemic, that’s not a good sign.
Why the Chinese government does not adjust
Eric Gujer asks if the West could not be a little more relaxed, in the end, the subversive attempts of influence of the Soviet Union and the GDR did not work either, the system had perished. The much-vaunted change through trade will not take place here, Ohlberg responds. “The difference is that despite growing problems, China still has a relatively strong economy.” And the Chinese market is a strong attraction for companies from Germany, Switzerland and the rest of Europe. It is important to position yourself more broadly. “Europe overestimates its dependence on China.”
China has gone from being a developing country to a superpower in just a few decades, says Gujer, and comes to a conclusion: “The other superpower, the United States, has yet to find an answer to this, and Europe certainly has not.”
