Global Times Warns, McCarthyism Is Dragging U.S.-China Relations ‘Into a Dangerous Abyss’

May 14, 2020 (EIRNS)—A May 13 Global Times op-ed by China Institute of International Studies assistant research fellow Zhang Tengjun, is headlined “Trump Summons Ghosts of Ghosts of McCarthyism,” and it states that “China-U.S. relations are at their worst point over the past 40 years” because of the resurgence of anti-Chinese McCarthyism in the U.S. The op-ed quotes former Sen. Max Baucus’s recent attack on the resurgence of anti-China McCarthyism in the U.S., and stating that

“many Americans worry that they might become targets of criticism if they make relatively rational, objective remarks, or if they say something positive about China. In this climate of fear, they have chosen to remain silent because they worry about being labeled as ‘pro-China’ or ‘pro-Communist.’ They fear having their careers and futures undermined. This reveals the distorted and irrational side of the U.S. politics. If such a situation continues, it will only drag China-U.S. relations into a dangerous abyss.”

The Global Times op-ed continues that

“What the Trump Administration is doing now is devastating mutual trust between China and the U.S.... It is difficult to predict when normal relations between Beijing and Washington will ensue again. The U.S. is shooting itself in the foot. A deteriorating China-U.S. relationship brings no good to the U.S.”

The U.S. has had a “botched response to the COVID-19 epidemic,” the article argues. “If the White House continues to focus on shifting the blame onto China instead of prioritizing its own anti-epidemic work, its behavior will eventually backfire. This will erode the reelection prospects of Trump.”

Zhang calls for the two countries to cooperate.

“Still, hope may prevail. Other voices within the U.S. are calling for China-U.S. cooperation to fight the virus. If the Trump Administration abandons its Cold War mentality and stops the blame game, it can help the U.S. rein in the virus. China is a production base for many critical medical devices and medicines. It has clinical experience dealing with COVID-19. The U.S. will face great difficulties and challenges tackling the epidemic without China’s cooperation and support.”

If, on the other hand,

“Should this neo-McCarthyism be completely resurrected in the U.S., it will signal a start of a new Cold War between China and the U.S. Not only will this be a disaster to the bilateral relations and an obstacle to exchanges between the two countries, it poses perilous threats to world peace and stability, leading to subversion of the existing international order, leaving it in an unpredictable mess.”