Imbalanced Criticism

by Xu Feibiao

As Chinas COVID-19 fight resulted in encouraging numbers after mid-March， the virus spread around the whole world， with the epicenter shifting to Europe and the United States. The virus knows no borders. To address the crisis threatening humanity， China has provided aid for other countries by sending medics and donating masks， testing reagents and protective suits， while maintaining its own epidemic prevention and control domestically.

Chinas aid has received high acclaim worldwide. But misunderstanding and rumors of the quality of medical supplies donated by China have also been spread in some countries.

On March 26， 2020， some Spanish media reports claimed that Chinas rapid test kits had only 30 percent accuracy. On March 28， the Health Ministry of the Netherlands declared that 1.3 million Chinese-made KN95 masks did not cling to faces tightly and failed to filter the virus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration （FDA） issued an Emergency Use Authorization which listed manufacturers of respirators designed and approved by six countries and regions. No Chinese products made the list. Biased Reporting

Clearly， such news reports leave a negative impact on Chinese-made products as they hinder Chinas aid efforts. Most of the reports about the low quality of medical supplies from China feature biased and misleading information. The truth is complex.

First， some products were bought from unqualified Chinese enterprises. After reading Spanish media reports， the Chinese Embassy in Spain immediately investigated the incident. As it turned out， the problematic reagents were not donated by the Chinese government， but bought by the Spanish side from ineligible Chinese manufacturers.

The second factor is faulty operation. The problems reported by the Netherlands resulted from inappropriate usage. A joint investigation by Chinas Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed that Dutch staff mistook common protective masks for surgical masks.

Third， various countries adopt different standards. Problems reported by the United States， Canada and Denmark resulted from varying standards among nations. The FDA later changed its policy to allow import of some protective products that comply with Chinas standards to make up for the shortage of medical supplies in the country.

Considering the rising demand for medical supplies worldwide and continuous shortage of related commodities in China， Chinese enterprises are overcoming various difficulties to accelerate manufacturing. Indeed， some defective products did reach target recipients. But solving such problems demands timely communication rather than a rush to criticism. As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying noted， when China was immersed in its own war against COVID-19， some products donated by foreign countries were lacking in quality， but China turned to the goodwill of donors and still showed gratitude. Most Chinese products have high quality and are in great demand.

Tipped Scale

The fact that some Western media outlets rushed to criticize the quality of products donated by China is expected by Chinese people by now. But the quality problems with Chinese products was overblown and slanted by some media organizations， and some Western politicians even smeared Chinas aid activities as “political propaganda” and “mask diplomacy.”Such biased reports shine light on the motives of accusers to stigmatize and politicize Chinas goodwill.

Several Western media organizations have deemed Chinas aid as part of some “grand conspiracy.” A German media outlet declared that China is playing a role as a timely helper while conquering state after state of the European Union （EU）. A British newspaper called Chinas assistance “predatory aid.” The U.S. media took an even more aggressive stance by calling Chinas aid “Chinese-style political propaganda.” Some politicians are known to habitually attack China such as Josep Borrell， the EUs top diplomat and foreign policy chief， who lashed out at Chinas aid as“politics of generosity.”

The changing faces of some Western media outlets since the outbreak of the pandemic say a lot. When China was the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak， their reports were full of satire， gloating and even racism. And when Chinas fight against the epidemic showed positive signs and the country began to help others， Western narrative-makers got to work on stigmatizing China and reviving the “China threat theory.”Such unfair and hostile reports about China lead to misunderstanding among people with little knowledge of China and widen the disconnection between Chinese and Western peoples. The hostility against China by some Western media outlets and politicians are hardly softened even during a time demanding concerted global efforts.

The virus knows no borders. Only collaboration between countries will defeat the pandemic. To build a community with a shared future for humanity， all countries need to put aside prejudices and stand united to safeguard our common home.