China Isolated by the World, Xi Jinping's Leadership Shaken

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Sunmi Park, Reporter Hyunjin Jeong] As the death toll from the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) in China surpasses 100, it is also negatively impacting the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Chinese government's initial failure to contain the virus led to its rapid spread domestically and internationally, fueling public anger. With neighboring countries closing borders and various nations restricting travel to China, China is effectively being isolated, causing the Chinese people's anger and disappointment to reach a peak.

According to major foreign media on the 28th, global experts on Chinese politics point out that the novel coronavirus crisis worsened rapidly due to China's centralized political structure. Local governments, which must wait for decisions from the central government, were forced into delayed responses. The strengthening of centralized decision-making under President Xi's eight years in power has, in fact, exacerbated the situation. Some analysts argue that local governments recognized the outbreak early on but ignored it, delaying reports to the central government and missing the critical window for early containment.

This analysis is supported by statements from Zhou Xianwang, the mayor of Wuhan. In an interview with the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) the previous day, Mayor Zhou acknowledged limitations as a local government official regarding the failure to disclose information in a timely manner. He said, "There are aspects that need to be understood about why information disclosure was not done at the appropriate time," adding, "Epidemics have their own procedures for information disclosure. As a local government, we could only disclose information after obtaining the relevant information and authority." He further defended, "At that time, we could not fully understand many aspects," and claimed that only after the State Council's executive meeting on the 20th raised the response level to the novel coronavirus could they take action.

President Xi has belatedly taken action by dispatching Premier Li Keqiang to Wuhan. How this crisis is resolved is seen as pivotal to the public's evaluation of the Communist Party. Premier Li is working to calm the situation by inspecting medical facilities in Wuhan, but concerns remain that the spread of the novel coronavirus will not be easily contained.

President Xi's external activities have also been disrupted. Prior to this crisis, he actively visited Macau and Africa, but both overseas trips and visits by world leaders to China are expected to be difficult for the time being. The Sankei Shimbun reported, citing anonymous sources, that there are talks of postponing President Xi's state visit to Japan scheduled for early April. Additionally, although U.S. President Donald Trump expressed willingness to visit China in conjunction with the start of the second phase of trade negotiations, it remains uncertain whether the Chinese government has the capacity to host President Trump amid the novel coronavirus crisis.

In particular, China is effectively being isolated by other countries due to its failure to contain the epidemic early on. North Korea and Mongolia, which share borders with China, have closed their borders, and countries such as the United States and Canada have advised against traveling to China. They especially warned their citizens not to travel to Hubei Province, where Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus, is located. Global companies are also actively withdrawing employees stationed in Wuhan, indicating that China is likely to face a state of isolation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.