EDITORIAL: The Straits Times says- Confront the challenges, not each other

Nearly 14 million people have been sickened and over half a million people have died since Wuhan first confirmed on Dec 31 that it was treating dozens of Covid-19 cases. Yet, in the midst of the greatest challenge to mankind since the Great Depression, the world’s most powerful nations are targeting each other rather than jointly attacking the virus. In the space of a week, United States President Donald Trump ended the special trading status accorded to Hong Kong and signed a law prescribing sanctions on Chinese officials who crack down on dissent in the city. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised stakes in the region by describing Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea as unlawful, and offered claimant states support to enforce laws on territorial rights. Attorney-General William Barr warned US firms against appeasing the Chinese Communist Party, and Federal Bureau of Investigation director Christopher Wray called China the greatest long-term threat to US economic and national security.

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Beijing promised to retaliate measure for measure as it presses on with an unprecedented aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomacy. It imposed sanctions on four American lawmakers after US sanctions on Chinese officials allegedly linked to the repression of Uighurs. It also sanctioned US defence giant Lockheed Martin for arms sales to Taiwan. Most importantly, Beijing has shown that it will not abandon its priorities – the national security law in Hong Kong, the pressure campaign in Xinjiang and the grooming of Chinese firms to take on American dominance in high-tech.