Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Rise of China: Political Worldview and Chinese Exceptionalism
- 2 Chinese Political Worldview: IR with Chinese Characteristics
- 3 Who is China?
- 4 Chinese National Image and Global Leadership
- 5 The Belt and Road and the Path to Chinese Greatness
- 6 Perceiving China: Case Studies from Indonesia and Vietnam
- 7 Deciphering China: Views from Singapore
- 8 Conclusion: From Chinese Exceptionalism to Chinese Universality
- 9 Afterword: Covid-19 and the Limits of Chinese Exceptionalism
- Bibliography
- Index
9 - Afterword: Covid-19 and the Limits of Chinese Exceptionalism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 May 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Rise of China: Political Worldview and Chinese Exceptionalism
- 2 Chinese Political Worldview: IR with Chinese Characteristics
- 3 Who is China?
- 4 Chinese National Image and Global Leadership
- 5 The Belt and Road and the Path to Chinese Greatness
- 6 Perceiving China: Case Studies from Indonesia and Vietnam
- 7 Deciphering China: Views from Singapore
- 8 Conclusion: From Chinese Exceptionalism to Chinese Universality
- 9 Afterword: Covid-19 and the Limits of Chinese Exceptionalism
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Abstract
This chapter analyzes Chinese responses to the events of the Covid-19 global pandemic and identifies themes of Chinese exceptionalism and Chinese benevolence in Beijing's pandemic-related global interactions. Three core narratives have framed China's response: that China is a responsible power; that China is self-sacrificing; and that China is superior to the West. At the same time, however, the events of the Covid-19 pandemic have also generated considerable criticism of the Chinese government, and how it being perceived as being good and different from the West. All of these factors have long-term implications for China's claim to global leadership and the attractiveness of its political worldview.
Keywords: Covid-19, responsible stakeholder, global leadership, Chinese Exceptionalism
In this final chapter, I relate the early events of the Covid-19 pandemic (until June 2020) to this study of Chinese exceptionalism and China's political worldview. I argue that – notwithstanding its early problems combating the virus – the Chinese government has attempted to communicate a sense of Chinese exceptionalism and benevolence through its diplomatic outreach about the pandemic. China's story highlights three themes: first, that China is a responsible power; second, that it is self-sacrificing; and third, that it is superior to the West (particularly the United States). While these are not new themes and each has been covered to some extent in my earlier chapters, the pandemic has thrown the global implications of China's political worldview and policy choices into relief. While territorial disputes and the Belt and Road Initiative represent matters of policy concern and scholarly interest, their effects are largely limited to the states and individuals involved in elite decision-making. The Covid-19 pandemic has moved China to the center of the international stage, and with it has come its competition with the United States for global leadership and influence. More importantly, the consequences of the pandemic affect more than decision-makers and policy elites, instead involving people from all walks of life. To this end, I argue that China's responses to the pandemic provide important clues to Beijing's view of itself and the world.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- China's Political Worldview and Chinese ExceptionalismInternational Order and Global Leadership, pp. 219 - 234Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2021