Coronavirus (COVID-19) Politics and International Relations

[Efforts by Beijing to trumpet the superiority of the Chinese system in its response to COVID-19 while also pushing fringe conspiracy theories blaming the US as the origin] serve as reminders of China’s lethally botched initial response to the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan. Recognising this reputational risk, Chinese propagandists are feverishly attempting to rewrite the COVID-19 narrative to place their leaders in a favourable light. This throws the world’s two most powerful countries in a narrative war, underscoring geopolitical rivalry and further tensions in the future.