trust issue

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An important foundation of international relations is that foreign parties can trust each other in what they say.

If a world leader tells another directly what position or positions his or her country advocates or upholds, let alone the so-called facts, the other side will believe it.

If a country enters into an international agreement or treaty, other countries can trust that country to broadly abide by the terms of the agreement. Otherwise, international relations will be unsustainable.

Fundamentally, international relations, like all human relationships, depend on trust.

Governments naturally shift positions or adapt to various internal and external influences, but they generally try to herald changes, often through diplomats and other channels, so as not to have unintended or unintended consequences. Without mutual trust, the rules-based international order will be unsustainable.

For pragmatic reasons, a totalitarian state can operate within this framework, since its own survival depends on mutual understanding, but the temptation to act unilaterally, to disregard international rules, and to believe that might is right is often evident. Watch Russia invade Ukraine.

The CCP has lost the trust of the world

The world’s reaction to China also shows a lack of trust. That trust has been shattered by a series of events, including territorial disputes in Chinese waters. As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China is bound by the Convention and decisions made under it.

When China seized Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea from the Philippines, it ignored protests from Manila against the Philippines referring the dispute to arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The CCP questioned the authority of the arbitral tribunal, refused to contest the complaint, and then completely ignored the final ruling of the Hague Tribunal, which clearly violated its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Despite finding that the so-called nine-dash line has no basis in international law and that artificial islands cannot establish territorial claims, the Chinese regime continues to assert its sovereignty.

To make matters worse, Chinese leader Xi Jinping asserted that he would not militarize these man-made structures, and he did!

On May 2, 2015, Chinese dredgers built artificial islands in and around Miji Reef in the Spratly Islands. (U.S. Navy)

The world’s confidence was further tested by the trade ban imposed by Beijing in violation of its agreement with China.

These events have shaken international trust, but the CCP’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak has completely eroded that trust. As the source of the spread of the virus, whether natural, accidental or the result of other factors, the failure to alert the international community has aroused suspicion.

The failure to fully cooperate with an independent international investigation into the origin and spread of the virus has cemented the belief that China cannot be trusted in the matter. This attitude was further reinforced by Xi Jinping’s recent arrogance when he rolled back the COVID-zero policy.

Hypocrisy about COVID

Last year, Xi Jinping declared that the response to COVID was ideological. In an article published in April in the Study Times, a publication of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China, Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission, insisted that China maintain its COVID-zero stance. He added that we must take a clear-cut stand against current misconceptions such as the so-called coexistence with the virus.

Scientists, doctors and other health experts were consulted, but based on an ideological understanding of ideological issues, it is Xi Jinping who decides policy.

At the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee last year, Xi Jinping announced that he would unswervingly adhere to the general policy of dynamic zero-coronavirus, and resolutely oppose any words and deeds that distort, doubt and deny our country’s epidemic prevention policy.

He added that the country’s COVID strategy is determined by the nature and mission of the party as well as scientific measures. He claimed that the party was able to defend Wuhan from the fight against COVID and would do the same in Shanghai.

Xi said the regime would punish anyone who questioned his policies.

People wait for the funeral of a deceased relative at Baoxing Funeral Home in Shanghai, China, January 4, 2023. (Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images)

He later said at the party congress that we have launched a people’s war to curb the spread of the virus in an all-round way, ensuring the health and safety of the people to the greatest extent possible. Encouraging and great achievements have been made in both the response to the epidemic and economic and social development. .

Within weeks, however, the COVID-zero policy was dropped on scientific grounds.

The Australian government’s decision to impose a COVID testing requirement on travelers from China shows a lack of trust in the Chinese regime.

Canberra has asked Beijing to provide the rest of the world with more transparent information about its COVID outbreak, including uploading real-time genome sequencing of its COVID cases.

health secretary mark butler Say He had asked the Ministry of Health to contact their counterparts in China to emphasize our view that it would be valuable for China to share information more fully.

He said the lack of clarity in China was why the government moved to impose new COVID-19 requirements for passengers on flights from China to Australia.

Despite widespread reports from China of thousands dying of COVID-19, hospitals overwhelmed and bodies piling up, official figures show just 12 deaths in December. In early January, the country was reporting around 9,300 new cases and one death per day.

Combine this with analyze Affinity, an independent health analytics firm, estimated daily new cases in late December at 1 million and daily deaths at 5,000. Additionally, Affinity predicts as many as 4 million new cases per day through March.

Travel restrictions imposed by many countries reflect their distrust of the Chinese Communist Party.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the views of The Epoch Times.

The Honorable Kevin Andrews served in the Australian Parliament from 1991 to 2022 and held a number of cabinet positions, including Minister for Defence.