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A man wears a protective mask as he sits in Times Square on March 12, 2020 in New York City. (Gary Hershorn/Corbis via Getty Images)
As the battle to stop the coronavirus pandemic continues, Hudson experts are closely following global developments and we wanted you to be aware of our most recent analyses. We hope this will help you deepen your understanding about the broader geopolitical implications and what it means for our country during this unprecedented time
In yesterday's Wall Street Journal our COO John Walters highlights why China’s coverup will have global consequences but ultimately makes the case why free nations will ultimately save the world. Scooter Libby outlines the preventative steps we need to take now to mitigate this from happening again and China’s lack of accountability on the “wet-blood” markets that have now caused two global outbreaks: SARS and COVID-19. Mike Watson fact-checks the CCP's "gifts" of medical supplies to other nations.
Last but not least, Hudson Senior Fellow and China specialist John Lee has a newly released policy memo on China’s propaganda offensive and its attempt to undermine the United States on the global stage. We outlined five major takeaways below. If you haven’t yet, please visit Hudson.org/coronavirus to stay up to date on our latest coronavirus analyses.
Deconstructing the CCP Narrative
Five major takeaways from Hudson Senior Fellow John Lee's new memo, "Combating China’s COVID-19 Propaganda Offensive to Undermine the United States on the Global Stage."
1. Beijing is trying to erase awareness of its suppression of dissent:
COVID-19 is deeply troubling to the CCP because it changes the global conversation from how quickly China can build a dam or commercialize self-driving cars to how the country is ruled and governed. Initial attempts to control information and suppress dissent rather than prevent a health crisis poses awkward questions about the strength and resilience of Chinese society under authoritarian institutions.
2. Changing the narrative is an economic necessity for the CCP:
Perceptions of China's resilience, reliability, and trustworthiness will influence whether global institutional investors and superannuation funds park their capital in the country; whether multinationals continue to rely on supply chains based in China and to invest tens of billions in the country as part of a long-term bet; and whether the renminbi can become a genuine “store of value.”
3. Western nations are overcoming a singular disadvantage:
The US is far from alone with respect to mistakes in responding to the pandemic. Western nations unprepared for pandemics, such as countries within the EU, have received even worse assessments. The only countries that have been decisive in responding at an early stage—such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore—are those that in 2003 experienced SARS, another coronavirus strain that began in China.
4. Despite the pandemic, US financial markets remain the gold standard:
As the pandemic develops, global entities are fleeing to purchase US dollar assets (followed by the Japanese yen, Swiss franc, and gold.) American financial markets are still the deepest, most diverse, and among the most trusted in the world.
Where institutions, firms, and individuals flee for safety and choose to park their wealth and capital in times of crisis—like the present—is an indicator of where true confidence in the future lies, or where long-term bets are being made.
5. Take Beijing's COVID-19 propaganda seriously:
Propaganda should not be dismissed as mere mischief-making. Beijing is highly adept at controlling narratives to advance its strategic objectives and will use the pandemic to advance the narrative that its authoritarian practices lead to better moral and practical outcomes. Beijing is attempting to advance its standing through a virus unleashed on its own population and the world.
Quotes have been edited for length and clarity
Hudson's Latest on the Coronavirus
China is Not a Coronavirus Role Model
It will be the free nations of the world, notes Hudson Chief Operating Officer John Walters, that will likely develop treatments, a vaccine and new means of stopping the epidemic. Despite some US commentators who seem envious of Xi Jinping's authoritarianism, it is the innovations of free markets and free nations that will bring back prosperity after the crisis abates.
Hold China Accountable for Wet Market Wrongdoing
In 2002 the deadly SARS coronavirus exploded out of China’s "wet-blood" wildlife markets. SARS infected over 8,000 people worldwide and killed almost 800. Yet post-crisis, Hudson Senior Vice President Scooter Libby argues, China laxly enforced bans on the offending markets, and permitted them to flourish soon thereafter. Today’s COVID-19 is the avoidable legacy of China’s recklessness.
CCP propagandists claim that China is leading the way in responding to pandemic internationally, which is patently false on many accounts, notes Hudson Associate Director Mike Watson. China’s much-publicized gift of 1 million masks to Japan is a grand gesture, albeit only one-third as grand as prior Japanese donations of nearly 3 million masks to China.
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