PRC Media Narratives: COVID-19

Key Findings:

• This week, the PRC media’s primary narrative on COVID-19 is that the PRC has defeated the pandemic and that its response should serve as a model for other nations combating the virus.
• PRC media stresses that the development of a vaccine should not be an area of geopolitical competition. However, external media claims that the PRC’s alleged commitment to international collaboration on the matter is a means to gain diplomatic leverage.
• While the external media narrative generally aligns with claims that the PRC has falsely reported COVID-19 information and engaged in a cover-up, the PRC media claims that the country has been wholly transparent in sharing and reporting virus information.

Key Events:

• On June 3rd, the Associated Press reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) was frustrated by the PRC allegedly delaying information sharing in the early stages of the outbreak.
• On June 3rd, the Trump Administration announced that it would ban Chinese passenger airplanes from flying to the US beginning on June 16th.
• On June 7th, US Senator Rick Scott claimed that the PRC is trying to sabotage vaccine development in Western countries.
• On June 7th, the PRC State Council Information Office (SCIO) released the white paper “Fighting COVID-19: China in Action” detailing the PRC’s alleged success combating COVID-19.

Topic Analysis:

Victory over COVID-19: This week, PRC media began to emphasize the alleged success of the PRC’s counter-COVID-19 efforts by detailing the decline in cases and by praising the strong leadership demonstrated by President Xi Jinping and the CCP (Global Times). The external narrative has emphasized that the PRC allegedly defeating the pandemic is propaganda meant to portray the country as a leader in global health and to provide reassurance to the world that the CCP’s response was effective.

• PRC Narrative:
  • PRC media reported on a white paper released by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) which details the PRC’s alleged successful efforts in combating COVID-19. Xinhua reported that, while the PRC was able to “defeat the global pandemic” and share its experience with the international community, COVID-19 “is currently wreaking havoc throughout the world.” The article praises the PRC government and highlights the leadership of the Communist Party and of President Xi Jinping (this may be in response to the Western criticism of China described in the white paper). Furthermore, the Global Times describes the pandemic response as a positive story to be shared globally: the white paper “demonstrates to the world how China won the arduous fight.”
  • This week, the PRC reported low numbers of new COVID-19 cases with most new cases being travelers arriving from abroad (China Daily). According to China Daily and the Global Times, Wuhan reported no new cases after testing nearly 10 million people. Additionally, various news stories, such as the downgrading of Beijing’s emergency threat level and the return to school by some students, aim to suggest that the current reported numbers are indicative of real trends (Xinhua, China Daily, China Daily).

• External Narrative:
  • Regarding the SCIO’s white paper, Western media recounts its narrative while refuting many of its claims. The New York Times (NYT) describes the white paper as an attempt by Beijing to portray “the country’s approach to combating the outbreak as a model for the world” that ignores the mistakes “that exacerbated the crisis.” Furthermore, the article claims that the PRC “put its full propaganda muscle behind the report.” Nevertheless, the NYT acknowledges that the PRC has begun to return to normal life, citing reports of fewer new cases and of Beijing lowering its emergency threat level.
  • External media has covered the PRC’s reporting of the mass-testing in Wuhan, mostly without critique (SCMP, Reuters). The SCMP did cite claims that the mass testing exercise was unnecessary from a scientific point of view and that “the survey would be meaningless if the government did not release more information.”

International Collaboration for a Vaccine: The PRC media pushes the narrative that China is committed to international collaboration in combating COVID-19, stressing that the development of a vaccine should not be a global competition. The external narrative generally acknowledges that the PRC is a leader in the development of a vaccine (Reuters) which would give it diplomatic leverage.

• PRC Narrative:
  • China Daily stresses that the PRC is a leader in vaccine development, which is described as “not a competition between countries.” Furthermore, PRC media has asserted that a vaccine must be provided to developing countries and the most vulnerable people around the globe (China Daily , Xinhua). A Xinhua article provides purported evidence of the good intentions behind the PRC’s international collaboration efforts by citing an Israeli researcher’s alleged praise of the PRC. Aside from the vaccine, PRC media has stressed its global assistance in providing medical equipment and COVID-19 tests to foreign countries such as Egypt and Syria (Xinhua, Xinhua).
  • PRC media frequently targets Western countries on the issue of international cooperation. In particular, it accuses the US of allegedly making the pandemic a geopolitical power struggle. For example, a China Daily opinion piece criticizes the US government’s intentions to withdraw from the WHO as allegedly “undermining global solidarity.” Furthermore, it compares the US’ potential withdrawal to Xi’s intentions to make a PRC-developed vaccine a “public good.”
• External Narrative:
  • External media reported US Senator Rick Scott’s claims that the US intelligence community has evidence that the PRC is attempting to sabotage vaccine development efforts by Western countries (Reuters, BBC). However, it mainly treated the statement as an unsubstantiated claim.
    
  • External media also asserts that PRC development of a vaccine would be a boon to its diplomatic power (Reuters). The Washington Post likened the development of a vaccine to the Cold War space race between the US and Russia, stating that it is not just a public health tool, but also a political and economic one.

COVID-19 Data Transparency: The PRC media narrative claims that the country has been wholly transparent in sharing and reporting virus information, while the external narrative generally aligns with claims that the PRC has falsely reported information and engaged in a cover-up.

• PRC Narrative:
  • A Global Times article covering an SCIO white paper on COVID-19 measures (mentioned above) states that Western media and politicians “recklessly accused” the PRC of covering up the COVID-19 outbreak; an accusation that the article rebukes, claiming the PRC shared all relevant information with the WHO in a timely manner. The article also suggests that the PRC’s transparency is evidence of their commitment to global public health (China Daily).
  • While the SCIO white paper is the most forceful assertion of the PRC’s self-proclaimed transparency (Xinhua), various PRC-media articles also emphasize the same narrative, particularly in response to reports that the PRC delayed information sharing with the WHO (Xinhua, China Daily).
• External Narrative:
  • The Associated Press (AP) reported that, while outwardly praising the nation for its transparency at the beginning of the outbreak in January 2020, the WHO was “frustrated” by information sharing delays by the PRC. The article describes the WHO as “stuck in the middle,” having to publicly praise the PRC in order to acquire more information about the novel coronavirus, a line reiterated by other outlets (BBC). The article goes on to claim that the delay likely contributed to the virus’ spread, an accusation that the PRC fully denies. Indeed, the SCMP writes that the SCIO white paper was a response to “global backlash” on the PRC’s lack of transparency.
  • The death of Hu Weifeng, a doctor who worked in the same Wuhan hospital as the whistleblower Li Wenliang, was covered extensively by external media, but was downplayed by PRC media (BBC, The Guardian, SCMP). External media reported that the news prompted a social media backlash in China, citing posts on Sina Weibo that express anger towards the PRC’s handling of the pandemic. The BBC specifically reported that many Weibo users questioned “the transparency of the hospital’s data.” China Daily and the Global Times covered Hu’s death and emphasized Chinese social media users’ mourning, but did not address any backlash.