Dialoguepk

17 May 2020 Author: Suisheng Zhao, University of Denver The world is entangled in the blame game between China and the United States as it confronts the largest public health threat in a century. Each is trying to divert attention from its own missteps to the other side,  hampering international cooperation  and multilateral responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese government faces strong domestic criticism on their accountability and transparency after suppressing early warnings about COVID-19. Several liberal activists — like Tsinghua University Professor Xu Zhangrun, private entrepreneur Ren Zhiqiang and political activist Xu Zhiyong — publicly denounced the ‘crisis of governance’ provoked by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s concentration of power. While these criticisms were silenced, some foreign organisations and governments filed lawsuits demanding compensation for damages caused by the pandemic. In response, the central government blamed the mishandling on  local leadershi