China’s state media are accusing the United States of spreading what they call a “political virus” by shifting the blame while bashing and smearing China amid the global fight against the coronavirus. Without using names, the media accused the Trump administration of initiating a smear campaign against China and described the White House officials responsible as “ugly and unreasonable.” This is the latest in a series of intensifying attempts by Chinese media outlets and diplomats to shift the global narrative away from the country’s mishandling of the COVID-19 outbreak in its early stages. China’s propaganda machine That, observers say, shows that China’s state-controlled news outlets have geared up to try to turn the coronavirus coverage to the government’s advantage. A worker hands down a bag of bread outside a bakery in Beijing, March 23, 2020. While social distancing remains the norm, China is striving to restore activity in the world’s second-largest economy after the shutdown over the coronavirus outbreak.”The main target audience for China’s propaganda efforts is primarily the domestic audience. Again, this is the bolster [of] the legitimacy of the Communist Party and, of course, the concentration of power on [President] Xi [Jinping] himself,” said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Oh said China has long been skillful in turning any negative narrative to its advantage.    U.S.-China blame game The blame began when the U.S. accused China of an initial cover-up which slowed the global response to the outbreak. China struck back by promoting a conspiracy theory that argued the virus originated in the United States and criticizing Washington for its slow response to the pandemic. The number of confirmed COVID-19 patients outside of China has risen to more than 340,000, while the number in China has stabilized at around 81,000 patients.   Over the weekend, major Chinese state media including Xinhua News and People’s Daily ran new editorials or commentaries that attacked the U.S. government. In an editorial, FILE – A worker changes copies of the People’s Daily newspaper in a public reading display at a park in Beijing, Nov. 20, 2015.The newspaper also ran a story that details a Workers unload boxes containing medical aid and protective materials to combat COVID-19 from a plane at Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest, Hungary, March 23, 2020, after its arrival from Shanghai, China.By doing so, Xi will also be able to justify his near totalitarian style of rule at home in the past few years, the expert added.   Abroad, Xi is turning on the charm by offering medical resources to the contagion-affected countries including Italy and Spain, and portraying China as responding to the outbreak in a globally responsible manner, according to Ding. Hold China accountable “The Chinese model isn’t necessarily appealing to Western countries. But China’s efforts may bring these Western countries closer to it and thus further away from the U.S.  I think these are the possible consequences,” Ding said. He urged the U.S. to monitor China’s growing geopolitical influence as it combats the disease. In spite of China’s stepped-up efforts to shift the narrative, rights activists Yang Jianli and Aaron Rhodes wrote in an article that the world must not lose track of the truth.”The viral outbreak is China’s responsibility, and China’s willfully botched response in its early phases led to a pandemic, with huge loss of life that only now is beginning — in China and around the world,” they wrote. They urged the world to hold China accountable. 
 
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