There is a lot more to say about these developments: about the past, the present (i.e. just what happened in Geneva over these last couple of days) and the future course of the called-for inquiry. We expect to say more about all three in later entries. Today, we shall start with a few first impressions.
The Present and The Past.
The press reports we have seen about these developments are mixed. Some seem to support the view that
President Xi Jinping
and China are the good guys in this drama and
President Trump
and America the skulking villains. This year’s World Health Assembly was, after all, a virtual event, and so, presumably, any head of state could have shown up. And President Xi did. He not only gave a speech. He promised some $2 billion to help countries, especially developing countries, cope with the COVID-19 crisis.
President Trump
, on the other hand, did not participate. Instead he sent a letter, one in which he threatened to make America’s suspension of payments to the UN organization permanent.
That said, it is not at all clear that China’s formal embrace of the WHO resolution represents a change of heart. It is hard to square the smiling faces in Geneva with China’s dismissal of Australia’s proposal for an inquiry, which China’s ambassador in Canberra called a “joke.” It is even harder to read Chinese acquiescence in the new tariffs – over 80 percent—that China has announced it will impose on Australian barley. That announcement followed China’s decision earlier this month to ban meat imports from four Australian abattoirs. And there could be more to come:
Australian wine, seafood, oats, fruit and dairy exports are reportedly on a list of commodities drawn up by Chinese officials that could face stricter quality checks, delayed Customs clearances, anti-dumping probes or state media-encouraged consumer boycotts.
[The Australian]
The Future
. As to what is coming next, we have nothing to report and are not inclined to engage in a great deal of speculation. We find it hard to believe, however, that China, the EU, Australia, the United States and others will all be of one mind when it comes deciding on the composition of the team that will carry out the agreed upon inquiry and the scope of their activities, to say nothing of their final report.
