Coronavirus: China fears America’s “armed confrontation” and backlash

Beijing could face a growing wave of hostility in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that could lead relations with the United States to an “armed confrontation,” a Chinese internal report warned.

The report, released earlier last month by the State Security Ministry to Beijing’s top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, concluded that global sentiment against China is at its highest point since the Tiananmen Square crackdown on 1989, sources said.

As a result, Beijing faces a wave of US-led anti-China sentiment after the pandemic and needs to be prepared at worst for the armed confrontation between the two world powers, according to people familiar with the content of the report, who He declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

The report was produced by the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), an expert group affiliated with the Ministry of State Security, China’s main intelligence body.

Although the briefing document remains disclosed, the content of the document was described to Reuters by people who had direct knowledge of its findings.

“I have no relevant information,” a spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement in response to Reuters questions about the report.

The Chinese Ministry of State Security has no public contact details and could not be reached for comment.

CICIR, an influential group of experts that until 1980 was within the Ministry of State Security and advises the Chinese government on foreign and security policy, did not respond to a request for comment.

But the report’s presentation shows how seriously Beijing takes the threat of a backlash in the building that could threaten what China sees as its strategic investments abroad and its vision of its security position, according to Reuters.

Relations between China and the United States are seen to be at their worst in decades, with deepening mistrust and sticking points of U.S. accusations of unfair trade and technology practices in disputes over Hong Kong, Taiwan, and disputed territories. in the South China Sea.

In recent days, United States President Donald Trump, facing a tougher re-election campaign as the coronavirus has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Americans and devastated the American economy, has been mounting criticism. to Beijing and threatening new tariffs on China. Meanwhile, his administration is considering retaliating against China for the outbreak, authorities said.

It is widely believed in Beijing that the United States wants to contain a rising China, which has become more assertive globally as its economy has grown.

The document concluded that Washington views China’s rise as a threat to national and economic security and a challenge to western democracies, the people said.

The report also said that the United States aimed to weaken the ruling Communist Party by undermining public confidence.

Chinese officials had a “special responsibility” to inform their people and the world of the threat posed by the coronavirus “as they were the first to know about it,” said US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus, in response to questions from Reuters.

Without directly addressing the assessment made in the Chinese report, Ortagus added: “Beijing’s efforts to silence scientists, journalists and citizens and spread disinformation exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis.”

A spokesman for the United States National Security Council declined to comment.

The report also warned that anti-China sentiment caused by the coronavirus could fuel resistance to infrastructure investment projects in the China Strip and Highway, and that Washington could intensify financial and military support for regional allies, making make the security situation in Asia more volatile.

Three decades ago, after Tiananmen, the United States and many Western governments imposed sanctions against China, including a ban or restriction on arms sales and technology transfers.

China is much more powerful today.

Xi has renewed China’s military strategy to create a combat force equipped to win modern wars. He is expanding China’s air and naval reach in a challenge to more than 70 years of American military dominance in Asia.

In its statement, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for cooperation, saying, “the strong and steady development of China-US relations serves the interests of both countries and the international community.

He added: “Any word or action that engages in political manipulation or stigmatization under the guise of the pandemic, including the opportunity to sow discord among countries, is not conducive to international cooperation against the pandemic.”

One of those familiar with the report said that some members of the Chinese intelligence community considered it the Chinese version of the ‘Novikov Telegram,’ a 1946 dispatch by the Soviet ambassador to Washington, Nikolai Novikov, which emphasized the dangers of the economy and ambition. military in the wake of World War II.

Novikov’s letter was a response to US diplomat George Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’ from Moscow saying that the Soviet Union did not see the possibility of peaceful coexistence with the West, and that containment was the best long-term strategy.

The two documents helped set the stage for the strategic thinking that defined both sides of the Cold War.

China has been accused by the United States of suppressing early information about the virus, which was first detected in the central city of Wuhan, and of minimizing its risks.

Beijing has repeatedly denied that it has covered up the extent or severity of the virus outbreak.

China has managed to contain the internal spread of the virus and has been trying to assert a leading role in the global battle against COVID-19. That has included a propaganda drive around their donations and the sale of medical supplies to the United States and other countries and the exchange of experience.

But China faces a growing backlash from critics who have held Beijing accountable for its role in the pandemic.

Trump has said he will cut funding for the World Health Organization (WHO), which he called “very focused on China,” something that WHO officials have denied.

The Australian government has called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of the virus.

Last month, France summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest a post on the Chinese embassy website criticizing western management of the coronavirus.

So far, the virus has infected more than 3 million people worldwide and has caused more than 200,000 deaths.