President Donald Trump and his aides have stepped up attacks on China in recent weeks over the COVID-19 outbreak as the U.S. was struggling to contain the spread of the virus and the economic crisis it triggered.
Mr. Trump first called the novel coronavirus a “Chinese virus”, triggering angry responses from Beijing. Last month, he suggested the U.S. seek damages from China over the outbreak which began in Wuhan and spread around the world. Mr. Trump has already restricted use of Chinese electrical equipment in the U.S. grid system amid rising tensions. Some officials in the administration are prodding him to block a government pension fund from investing in Chinese companies aimed at upending capital flows into Asian giant, according to a New York Times report. Moreover, Mr. Trump and his officials have linked a virology lab in Wuhan to the virus, an allegation which the U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating.
Tensions between the two countries are not new. Ties between the two were not particularly good since Mr. Trump became President. This time, amid the pandemic crisis, Mr. Trump has taken tensions to new highs by endorsing the unproven lab theory and threatening China with punishments, which could have harsh economic consequences at a time when the global economy is in its deepest downturn in decades. Why is Mr. Trump doing this?
The new rival
Till early this year, the focus of Mr. Trump’s re-election team was the performance