The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has evoked a plethora of responses from countries across the world with regards to trade, diplomatic relations, public health etc. Amongst which major powers like the US and Australia have shown their concerns about China’s transparency in the issue and have also questioned the way WHO handled the situation. US President Donald Trump said that China did not do enough to contain the global spread of the virus. He claimed that the US has significant evidence which suggests that coronavirus can be traced back to a laboratory in China and has also called it the ‘Chinese virus’ on several occasions. He accused the WHO of being ‘China-centric’ and as a result he has frozen funding to the UN agency for 60-90 days. Trump went on to say that China will do “everything they can” to make him lose his re-election in November this year. In his opinion, China wants his Democratic opponent Joe Biden to win because of his tough approach towards them for trade and other reasons.

In a similar vein, Australia issued a call for investigating the origins of the virus and how it spread. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that it was “entirely reasonable and sensible” to examine the matter carefully since coronavirus led to the death of more than 200,000 individuals and severely affected the global economy. Morrison spoke to Trump about the current situation and both the leaders agreed to carry out an investigation to grapple with issues of transparency and effectiveness. Britain and France refused to partake in this inquiry as their officials told Morrison that they were engaged in fighting the pandemic and did not want to probe further. A senior European Union diplomat, Josep Borell also condemned the call for inquiry saying that blaming one another in such a crucial time is harmful to the international cooperation and commitment in combating the pandemic.

China has fiercely responded to these allegations and accused Australia of indulging in “petty tricks” and being Trump’s “mouthpiece”. It has also blamed the US for creating panic and heading an “anti-China crusade”. As for Trump’s claim on his re-election, China has maintained that it is an internal affair and they have nothing to do with it. Australia’s call for inquiry has led to some serious consequences for their trade relations as China suspended beef imports from four major Australian companies and imposed new tariffs upto 80% on barley imports.

Written by

Kunjika Pathak, Intern

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