Translated material
Closed consulates, coronavirus and hackers: how the “New Cold War” develops the United States and China
On July 24, China announced the closure of the American Consulate in Chendu - in response to the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston shortly before. What is happening is already called a new Cold War between the United States and China: the last few months of the countries are suspected of espionage, prohibit the work of enemy journalists, catch foreign hackers and accuse each other for the creation of coronavirus. Tanya Uska figured out why, against the backdrop of pandemia, the relations of the United States and China worsened, and the upcoming American elections and last year's protests in Hong Kong have.
Consulate closing
China decided to withdraw a license from the American consulate in the Chinese city of Chendu (Sichuan's province) after the Chinese consulate in the city of Houston (Texas) was closed in the United States on July 21. Chinese diplomats were given 72 hours for evacuation. According to the administration of Donald Trump, this was done to "protect American intellectual property and personal information." And the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even said that the consulate in Houston was a stronghold of espionage.
The next night, smoke was visible on the territory of the consulate. Firefighters were called there, but they could not stand on the formal territory of another country. The American side is sure that diplomats burned the documents before leaving the country. They were seen by buying barrels, and then shreds of paper were found in garbage.
A Video Captured by OUR Crew outside the Consulate General of China in Houston Shows Peole Hosing Download Containers in the Containers in the Property.
Details: https://t.co/2coekoap96 pic.twitter.com/toqithjy2t- KPRC2Tulsi (@kPRC2Tulsi) JULY 22, 2020
The next day, Mike Pompeo in his speech said that the US decision to close the consulate in Houston was an American response to China's behavior.
“President Trump said“ enough ”. We will no longer allow this to continue, ” said Pompeo. - We expect China from the Communist Party that she will behave properly, and if she does not, then we are not going to sit back. We will protect American people, our national security, our economy and our jobs. ”
The Senator from the Republican Party Marco Rubio added that the consulate in Houston was the center of Chinese espionage, who used agents to influence Congress, and said that the representative office had to be closed for a long time.
On the same day, the United States accused two Chinese citizens of attempt by a hacker attack in order to steal the results of American studies of coronavirus vaccine. The US Department of Justice said the same “Chinese hackers” attacked international organizations and human rights activists in Hong Kong. In China, the accusations were rejected, considering them disrespect for Chinese scientists and their achievements.
Mankind Belongs to A Community with A Common Future, Where People of All Countries Share Weal & Woe. In this Battle Against the Virus, Solidarity & Cooperation Are the Most Effective Weapons. While We Are Fighting Covid-19, it is Also Important to Guard Against “Political Virus”.
- Liu Xiaoming (@ambliuxiaoming) July 22, 2020
There were no more explanations from the United States. China said that this decision sabotages agreements between the United States and China, and they will be forced to take response. And although many suspected that in response, China would close important consulates - for example, in Hong Kong - eventually closed the consulate in Chenddu.
This partly looks like an attempt to restrain the further escalation of relations, but it is not clear how much this can really improve the situation. Some experts say that in such tense relations, the United States and China have not been since Mao, and what is happening resembles a new Cold War - this time not with the USSR or Russia, but with the PRC.
What does the pandemic have to do with it?
The new round of tension between the United States and China began with the advent of the pandemic: back in March, Donald Trump began to accuse China of creating coronavirus. At first, the president understated the danger of the virus, and when the number of infected ones began to increase rapidly - now there are 70 thousand infected per day in the country, - began to transfer responsibility to China. Donald Trump called the Covid-19 only as the “Chinese virus” and even deleted the part of the “crown” from his speeches to replace it with the word “Chinese”. Mike Pompeo then accused China of the Chinese government hid information about Coronavirus (this turned out to be true ), and endured the whole world.
China does not admit the guilt for the spread of coronavirus in the world. In response to the US prosecution, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PRC even stated that Coronavirus could bring the American military to Wuan. But after China began to be subjected to international criticism from all sides - because he hid the scale of the pandemic in winter. Now in China they say that the United States spreads conspiracy theories and lies, thereby only worsening and so tense relations between countries.
Indeed, the United States is more like the initiator of the escalation of tension. Since 2018, the country has been in the trade war with China , and Donald Trump has already spoke sharply on the theme of China. But during the coronavirus, “Anti -Chinese propaganda” became much larger, and most of the moves in the new Cold War are initiated by the United States.
In March, the United States limited the number of China citizens who can work in five Chinese news agencies in America up to a hundred. In response in China, they decided to expel American journalists working for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
After that, for several months, Donald Trump and his administration continued to speak negatively about China. In the FBI, China began to openly call America the biggest threat, during the pandemic, at least four people in the United States were arrested on suspicion of espionage for China. And the day before the closure of the American consulate at Cunda, three Chinese citizens were arrested in the United States for violation of a visa - they allegedly lied about their membership in the Chinese army. In the country , a negative attitude towards China is growing , Chinese diplomats declare threats, and people with Asian appearance living in America speak of the growth of racism.
Why is this happening, and can a new cold war really begin?
Coronavirus pandemia put both China and the USA in an extremely vulnerable position. On the one hand, China really hid information about the spread of coronavirus at the initial stages - and this was the reason why it was not possible to restrain the epidemic in one country. On the other hand, Donald Trump also understood the scale of the pandemic, and the United States is now in the first place in the world in terms of the number of infected.
For Trump as a president, this is an extremely painful situation: his support in the country against the backdrop of uncontrolled pandemia and the simultaneous protests of Black Lives Matter is rapidly falling, and new presidential elections should be held in the fall, and Donald Trump intended to win them. Therefore, the administration of Trump was profitable to try to shift the responsibility to China: Donald Trump at some point even began to openly declare that China simply wanted him to lose the presidential election.
In addition, China is now in the center of international criticism due to non-compliance with human rights in the country. This is primarily due to the new Chinese law on national security adopted after last year's protests in Hong Kong. In fact, he translates Hong Kong, a large international economic center, under the total control of China. This law is unique not only because it actually implies the complete destruction of the opposition in the region - for even the motivation for violation of national security, you can get lifelong imprisonment - but also applies to all people in China, as well as to citizens who are in other countries.
After the adoption of this law, the United States made a harsh criticism of China and called its allies to the same criticism. In addition, in July, the United States announced sanctions against China for violence against Muslim minorities - Uyghurs, which are contained in special camps and persecuted. For these reasons, China blames the United States in creating a negative attitude to China in the international arena.
It is still difficult to say how the relations of the United States and China will develop further. Whether the escalation of tension will continue between both countries depends, apparently, not only on what damage to the coronavirus, but also from the one who will win the presidential elections in the United States, and from the scale of the second wave of the Covid-19, which can come in the fall. But the closure of consulates on both sides is a serious step, after which it will be difficult to normalize relations between countries.