In recent days, Chinese state-run media have begun focusing on the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States, painting it as more severe than the epidemic in China.
Some Chinese media outlets also spread outright falsehoods—including a claim that the virus originated in the United States.
The virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year.
Harping on US Outbreak
Chinese state media took the opportunity to highlight the U.S. outbreak.“Now the United States is in turmoil. More and more states have declared a state of emergency, while the whole country is extremely short on medical supply. A coronavirus epidemic is almost inevitable.”
The article went on to explain that U.S. reliance on supply chains in China proves that the former needs the latter to contain the virus. “Most facial masks in the U.S. market are made and imported from China… The majority of medicine in the U.S. is imported from other countries… If China bans exports to the United States, the latter will enter into hell caused by the coronavirus.”
Furthermore, the article claimed, the United States and other countries should thank China because China did not ban travel to and from the United States, which “would have damaged the American economy severely, and cause the U.S. stock market to crash.”
Fake News
On Feb. 24, Chinese state-run newspaper Securities Times published an article based on unverified claims made by Paul Cottrell, who according to his online bio, is a finance PhD based in New York. He posted a YouTube video claiming that sources told him more than 1,000 people have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus in the United States.Using Cottrell’s claims as its basis, the Chinese article claimed that the U.S. CDC was hiding the true scale of the U.S. outbreak.
Chinese media also began spreading a claim that the virus originated in the United States.
U.S.-based China commentator Tang Jingyuan said he believes the Chinese regime is purposefully using the U.S. outbreak to mislead Chinese citizens about the current outbreak within its borders.
“We clearly see that the coronavirus epidemic in China is very severe, which is totally different from what government authorities claim. Chinese people see for themselves what is happening around them,” Tang said.
Thus, the Chinese regime hopes to shift people’s focus to the United States as a distraction.
“It tries to fool people into thinking the virus is from the United States, and have Chinese people show hatred toward the U.S. Then, they won’t think about what the Beijing regime is doing,” Tang added.
And by emphasizing severe outbreaks outside China, “it can tell people that China has a better system,” Tang said.