Thayer Consultancy Background Briefing:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

China’s Red Cross Weighs in to
Change Narrative on China’s
Mishandling of COVD-19
Carlyle A. Thayer
April 9, 2020
We are working on a report about the China Red Cross that has been at the forefront
of China's efforts to paint itself as a leader in the coronavirus fight, and deflect
attention away from questions about whether China exacerbated the epidemic.
Red Cross teams have been dispatched to Iran, Italy, Iraq and Pakistan, for example.
Here's a high-profile speech by a Chinese Red Cross official in Italy:
http://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20200320-china-reproaches-west-s-laxity-in-
fight-against-coronavirus-lockdown-italy-highest-death-toll-herd-immunity-covid-19
We request your assessment on how the China Red Cross could help Beijing repair the
damage done by its early missteps in handling the coronavirus outbreak. And how
President Xi Jin-ping might use it to promote China as a responsible world power.
ANSWER: Chinese leaders and medical specialists were taken aback when Novel
COVID-19 virus broke out in Wuhan. They were as blindsided about the lethality of the
coronavirus as their foreign counterparts. China responded with draconian social
control measures in Wuhan city in January. As these measures took effect President
Xi Jin-ping visited Wuhan on 10 March. This week China began lifting most of its
medical control measures in the city.
As the coronavirus initially spread from China to South Korea, Italy, Iran, Spain,
Southeast Asia, and the United States China came under criticism for its lack of
transparency and mishandling its response to COVID-19. Foreign critics alleged that
China deliberately downplayed the number of deaths that occurred.
After Xi’s visit to Wuhan, China kickstarted a propaganda campaign to push back
against foreign criticism. A major theme was that China was the first country to
successfully contain COVID-19 and foreign states should, in the words of President Xi,
be grateful because China had ‘brought precious time for the world’. Additionally,
China offered to share its experience in controlling COVID-19 with affected states and
to provide medical equipment and supplies.
The China Red Cross is the perfect agency to play a leading role in China’s ‘coronavirus
diplomacy’. The China Red Cross is a member of the International Committee of the
Red Cross, an international agency with a well-established global network that comes
into action when a country is affected by a natural disaster such as flooding, an
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earthquake, forest fires etc. The China Red Cross appears ostensibly independent from
the Chinese Communist Party when in fact the opposite is the case.
It should be noted that the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba have also played
prominent roles in providing medical supplies and equipment to COVID-19 affected
countries.
In February alone, China began sharing information and providing face masks,
personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, testing kits and other medical supplies
to six countries: the Philippines, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Zimbabwe and Iraq. China
reportedly is now providing similar assistance to nearly ninety countries.
China has also promoted multilateral efforts to counter COVID-19. In February, China
participated in a virtual conference of health ministers from the ASEAN Plus Three
(China, Japan and South Korea) countries and the foreign ministers from China and
the Philippines co-chaired a conference on the coronavirus that met in Laos. In March,
China donated US $20 million to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
There is, however, a fly in China’s coronavirus diplomacy. Several recipient countries
have found Chinese face masks to be defective or otherwise not up to the standard
required and have returned them to China. Spain and the Netherlands reportedly have
disposed of faulty China testing kits and face masks.
China’s proactive outward looking cooperative response to the coronavirus stands in
contrast to President Trump’s inward looking American First response. The U.S., it
should be noted, co-chaired a ASEAN-U.S. High-Level Interagency Video Conference
to Counter COVID-19 on 1 April. This was held at the deputy minister level. Also, in
contrast to China, the U.S. has allocated the princely sum of US $18 million to three
Southeast Asian members of ASEAN. The U.S. has offered to assist other regional
states once U.S. needs are met.
The characterization of the coronavirus as the ‘Wuhan virus’ or the ‘China virus’ by
President Trump and his Administration officials has not gone down well with the
international community as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s unsuccessful efforts to
insert ‘Wuhan virus’ into a Group of 7 joint statement attest. Trump’s recent criticism
of the WHO and threat to withdraw funding will not go down well either with the
international community.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “China’s Red Cross Weighs in to Change

Narrative on China’s Mishandling of COVD-19,” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief,
April 9, 2020. All background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially
registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.