As the virulent COVID-19 has transformed into a pandemic, states ought to employ their capabilities and resources to counter it. A state’s successful response to contingencies is not only seen as a sign of possessing efficient response system, but also renders the state an opportunity to project leadership capability on the global stage. The capabilities of a state is assessed based on its ability to protect its borders and citizens from external threats, and the determination to mobilise resources to achieve set national objectives and address contingencies. One such contingency is the COVID-19 outbreak. In this context, this piece attempts to explore as to how People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Japan respond to COVID-19 as both the states are striving for leadership in East Asia: China strides towards attaining a great power status, while Japan has to protect its status as a dominant power in the region.
The initial response of both the states to the outbreak appeared somewhat similar despite having different political systems. The Chinese leadership drew both domestic and international criticism for keeping the outbreak an unduly secret and being non-transparent about the number of infected cases and fatalities – a deja vu of the 2003 SARS outbreak. Japan also came under criticism for mishandling an outbreak on the cruise ship Diamond Princess as they tried to keep those infected off Tokyo.
The subsequent Chinese response was swift and decisive. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, Wuhan, was shut down on 1 January 2020, and the city was locked down on 23 January, a day before Chinese New Year. A thousand bed hospital to treat those infected was built within two weeks; doctors and nurses were brought from 29 provinces, besides military medics; stadiums and convention centres were converted into temporary hospitals, and hotels were turned into quarantine centres. China used Y20 transport plane for the first time in an operation outside of a military drill. By third week of February, they were able to quarantine most people who could possibly spread the virus in Wuhan in addition to releasing daily updates on new cases and casualties.
On the other hand, Japan’s response seemed somewhat disinclined. The first case of infection was confirmed on 28 January, and the World Health Organisation (WHO), on 30 January declared that coronavirus to be “a public health emergency of international concern”. But, the Japanese Health Ministry admitted the infection only on 17 February, and the “basic policy” for countering COVID-19 was adopted on 25 February, almost a month after the first confirmed case. The preventive measures include working online from home, commuting to jobs at different times and instructed organisers of events to plan cautiously. One can argue that it may be adequate as the number of infected people is much less in number compared to China. But, there is a growing scepticism that the government is holding down the number of those tested to minimise the number of infections.
The use of technology and resources to combat the virus has also drawn a great deal of attention. China’s advanced gene sequencing technologies had facilitated identifying the novel coronavirus within three-days (24-27 December) of securing the samples using second-generation high-throughput gene sequencing technology (mNGS). Although there was a hold up in announcing the test results initially, soon they were published in the Chinese Medical Journal (English version) on 29 January 2020. China has a posse of advanced gene sequencing companies including Shenzhen BGI Gene Co., Ltd, world’s largest genomics R&D institution. On the contrary, despite having cutting-edge technologies and advanced industries, Japan’s medical professionals were running short of face masks, disinfectant and test kits, and Japan is also in dire need of medical professionals who can perform diagnostic tests. Nonetheless, Japan’s Abe has assured that a new test kit is being developed that can show results in 15 minutes compared to the current test, which takes about two to three hours as the new cases and casualties continue to mount.
President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are dominant leaders, and they both exercise enormous control over their respective parties. However, of late, both of them have been facing threats to their leadership. Xi has been confronting Hong Kong protests and a simmering Xinjiang, while Abe has been fencing a series of scandals involving himself and his legislatures. The COVID-19 outbreak had come at an inopportune moment for them. As the crisis raged, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party recognised formalism and bureaucracy as the biggest enemies fighting the virus, and effected a leadership change in the province of Hubei and the city of Wuhan. In order to ward off the criticism of inaction, an internal speech that President Xi made as early as 7 January 2020 directing the containment efforts was published in February, which is unusual and a defensive move to protect the leadership.
Abe was roundly criticised for failing to impose a total ban on Chinese arrivals, instead of confining it only to the hardest hit province. Abe possibly took this decision so as not to complicate his efforts to improve ties with China in the light of the impending visit of President Xi to Japan, which was postponed anyway. The controversy involving collecting flight fares of evacuees from Wuhan, their subsequent sharing of hotel rooms in Japan, which led to new infections, has earned him no friends either within the party or with the public. To fight off the image of being laid back in response to COVID-19 outbreak, Abe abruptly announced closing of schools nationwide to the chagrin of most parents. Further, he has promised to create another emergency package of US $ 2.5 billion to cushion the impact of the new coronavirus.
Moving to the economy, the ongoing crisis has reduced consumer spending, production and trade considerably, which can have significant impact on Chinese economy in the long-run. Therefore, China has injected US $174 billion of liquidity into the financial markets to mitigate volatility in the economy. The Japanese economy has already shrunk in the last quarter, the fastest in the last six years, due to the rise in sales tax. The unemployment rose to 2.4 per cent in January 2020 from 2.2 per cent in December 2019. Adding to that woe, the estimated loss to tourism and hospitality industry due to the sharp fall of tourists from China and Korea is around US $1.8 billion. Further, if Japan fails to accrue the expected benefits from the Olympics, it could prove disastrous to its economy. In case of cancellation, according to a SMBC Nikko Securities Inc., report, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will reduce by 1.4 per cent, and the virus will reduce the GDP upto 0.9 even if the Olympics happens as planned.
The decreasing rate of new infections and casualties in China has prompted the WHO in its ‘Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)’, published 28 February 2020, to declare that, “China’s bold approach to contain the rapid spread of this new respiratory pathogen has changed the course of a rapidly escalating and deadly epidemic”. This has come as a shot in the arm for beleaguered President Xi Jinping, and now, China is projecting its model of governance as exemplary. However, Abe’s efforts to fight COVID-19 still left much to be desired. In a recent survey published by the conservative Sankei Shimbun, Shinzo Abe’s cabinet support fell 8.4 points to 36.2 per cent, and his non-approval rate rose 7.8 per cent to 46.7 per cent.
No doubt, China was able to marshal its resources effectively to halt the progress of COVID-19 on its tracks to a large extent to protect its citizens and attest its leadership capability. However, more than lockdowns, it is a combination of social distancing, use of technology, and mass testing, seem to have facilitated it, as one can discern from the successes of South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. But, Japan appeared to have been numbed in the face of COVID-19, despite having a robust history of responding to crises. Perhaps, Abe’s efforts to improve the ties with China, and resorting to aggressive measures could jeopardise the Olympics may have played a role in it. Yet, Japan still can rise up to the challenge and try remain in the leadership fray.
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Dr A. D. Gnanagurunathan has recently been a MOFA Visiting Scholar Department of Political Science National Taiwan University (NTU) Taiwan.My ea nsearch has been Japans ...
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