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COVID-19 killed 1 million in the US, but just 30,000 in China
When China’s growth continues to slow down, it will be much more difficult for other countries to survive.
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Stand alone: A pandemic prevention worker in a protective suit approaches an apartment in a building that went into lockdown as COVID-19 disease outbreaks continue in Beijing on Dec. 2, 2022. (Reuters/Thomas Peter)
I
t seems very funny, but at the same time tragic, to hear the United States harshly criticize China’s COVID policy, including its zero tolerance of the virus that has forced it to implement lockdowns. The US had better look in the mirror before preaching to China.
Data shows more than 1 million people in the US died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began to spread almost three years ago. In China, the number stood at 30,000 for the same period. Clearly the US performed worse than China in containing the pandemic and saving lives.
Therefore, it will be more elegant for American officials to advise China not to repeat their own fatal mistakes in the fight against COVID-19. One of the main reasons for the US high fatality rate is then -resident Donald Trump’s reluctance to admit the danger of the virus. Millions of his die-hard supporters faithfully joined him in refusing vaccinations, although American pharma giants produce the world’s most effective vaccines against COVID-19.
President Joe Biden should not feel ashamed to call Chinese President Xi Jinping, telling him that China’s victory over COVID-19 will help the world overcome the next crisis: global recession. Biden should bravely confess it is China, not the US, that serves as the main engine of the world’s economic growth today. But will Biden have the courage to humiliate himself?
China itself is facing a serious economic slowdown because of the prolonged fight against COVID-19. The world’s recovery heavily depends on China’s resilience as one of the world’s largest economies. Some world’s top organizations such as the World Bank, the IMF and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have predicted China’s economy will grow at a lower rate compared to its pre-pandemic level.
China has become one of the world’s biggest importers of natural resources and commodities, including coal and palm oil from Indonesia. The worrying trend gets serious attention from the Indonesian government because it will severely affect the country’s exports next year. Skyrocketing demands and prices of coal and palm oil have saved Indonesia’s economy in the last three years.
China has played an increasingly pivotal role in global supply chains in the past 30 years of economic liberalization. Lockdowns implemented in some industrial bases in China as part of the zero-COVID policy have undoubtedly disrupted the supply chains.
