🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 96 (from laksa163)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa096.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/25/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic/\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/25/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic/\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/25\/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic\/","crawl_time":1776399236,"first_indexed_time":1585148187,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,foreignpolicy!\/2020\/03\/25\/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic\/ s443","src_root_hash":"6089014433239620496","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Yes, Blame China and Xi Jinping for the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic","meta_descriptions":[],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"My FP:\nFollow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers.\nSubscribe Now\n|\nLog In\nU.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” when talking about the pandemic. Many of his critics insist the term is racist, echoing official Chinese talking points. Others, such as U.S. Sen.\nKelly Loeffler\n, say that we should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders.\nThis is nonsense. The crisis is inherently political because it was caused in part by incompetent, malicious, and corrupt politicians. To ignore the political dimension of the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent way to ensure it happens again. If we do not want another global pandemic, we have to hold accountable the politicians responsible for making it worse, chief among them Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not create the novel coronavirus, but his government’s missteps are directly responsible for its global transmission and uncontrolled spread, with all its terrible consequences to populations and economies around the world.","attrs_markdown":"## There appears to be a technical issue with your browser\nThis issue is preventing our website from loading properly. 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All contents (c) 2026, Graham Digital Holding Company. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 1099 14th St NW, Suite 500 East, Washington, D.C., 20005.\n\nPowered by [WordPress VIP](https:\/\/wpvip.com\/?utm_source=vip_powered_wpcom&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=VIP%20Footer%20Credit&utm_term=foreignpolicy.com)\n\nThis article was published more than **6 years ago**\n\n[Elephants in the Room](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/channel\/elephants-in-the-room\/)\n\n# Yes, Blame China for the Virus\n## A bungled response in Western countries is no reason to take the heat off China. If China had a different government, the world could have been spared this terrible pandemic.\nBy [**Paul D. Miller**](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/paul-d-miller\/)\n\n![Posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping are plastered on the ground during protests at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on Sept. 26, 2019.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/GettyImages-1171563636.jpg?quality=90)\n\nPosters of Chinese President Xi Jinping are plastered on the ground during protests at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on Sept. 26, 2019.\n\nPosters of Chinese President Xi Jinping are plastered on the ground during protests at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on Sept. 26, 2019. Billy H.C. Kwok\/Getty Images\n\n[My FP:](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/myfp) Follow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers. [Subscribe Now](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/25\/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic\/) \\| [Log In](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/25\/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic\/)\n\n- Health\n- Pandemics\n- China\n\nMarch 25, 2020, 10:43 AM\n\nU.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” when talking about the pandemic. Many of his critics insist the term is racist, echoing official Chinese talking points. Others, such as U.S. Sen. [Kelly Loeffler](https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenatorLoeffler\/status\/1240778388295598080), say that we should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders.\n\nThis is nonsense. The crisis is inherently political because it was caused in part by incompetent, malicious, and corrupt politicians. To ignore the political dimension of the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent way to ensure it happens again. If we do not want another global pandemic, we have to hold accountable the politicians responsible for making it worse, chief among them Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not create the novel coronavirus, but his government’s missteps are directly responsible for its global transmission and uncontrolled spread, with all its terrible consequences to populations and economies around the world.\n\nU.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” when talking about the pandemic. Many of his critics insist the term is racist, echoing official Chinese talking points. Others, such as U.S. Sen. [Kelly Loeffler](https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenatorLoeffler\/status\/1240778388295598080), say that we should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders.\n\n[![](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Inset_label_Coronavirus.png)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/projects\/coronavirus-wuhan-china-pandemic-outbreak-guide-2020\/)\n\nThis is nonsense. The crisis is inherently political because it was caused in part by incompetent, malicious, and corrupt politicians. To ignore the political dimension of the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent way to ensure it happens again. If we do not want another global pandemic, we have to hold accountable the politicians responsible for making it worse, chief among them Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not create the novel coronavirus, but his government’s missteps are directly responsible for its global transmission and uncontrolled spread, with all its terrible consequences to populations and economies around the world.\n\nXi Jinping did not create the virus, but his government is directly responsible for its global spread, and its terrible consequences for people and economies around the world.\n\nA global pandemic is not a blind force of nature independent of human agency. It is a failure of governance. An analogy with famines is useful. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has explained in his excellent book, [Development as Freedom](https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Development-as-Freedom-Amartya-Sen\/dp\/0385720270\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XA3U8SYRKCKI&keywords=amartya+sen+development+as+freedom&qid=1584699034&sprefix=amarty%252Caps%252C133&sr=8-1), that famines are not primarily an absence of food, but an absence of information about food, coupled with a problem of transportation. There is, physically speaking, enough food on the planet for everyone. If you know where food is and where hungry people are, and you can get the one to the other, people do not starve. That is why established free-market democracies, which allow the free flow of information and markets, have no famines.\n\n*\\[*[*Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak:*](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/04\/mapping-coronavirus-outbreak-infographic\/) *Get daily updates on the pandemic and learn how it’s affecting countries around the world.\\]*\n\nSimilarly, a global pandemic does not happen every time a novel infectious pathogen emerges. It happens when there is an absence of accurate information about the pathogen and a failure of basic public services—in this case, the failure to regulate food and marketplaces to prevent the transmission of pathogens, and the failure to shut down transportation and control movement once it spreads. When authorities regulate public health, share information about a pathogen, and cooperate to control its movement, diseases are contained and pandemics are unlikely.\n\nThese are problems of governance, not science. Governments have to act like they are responsible for public health. They have to welcome transparency, willingly share information (even about their failures and ignorance), and order their bureaucracies to cooperate with one another, with international health organizations, and with foreign governments. Good governance responds to public demand, rewards the free flow of information, including bad news, and rewards cooperation in the public interest, even when it goes against parochial bureaucratic self-interest. Bad governance does the opposite.\n\n![Don't Touch Your Face podcast](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/dont-touch-your-face-coronavirus-foreign-policy-podcast-logo.jpg) [![Listen on Apple podcasts](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/apple-podcasts-logo.png)](https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/dont-touch-your-face\/id1501774973) [![Listen on Spotify](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/spotify-logo.png)](https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7vyK6lbw1ydDJJjVR5SOe0?si=I53MaKqERtyuuwK3PC1A-A)\n\n### Listen Now: Don't Touch Your Face\nA new podcast from *Foreign Policy* covering all aspects of the coronavirus pandemic\n\n[![Listen on Apple podcasts](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/apple-podcasts-logo.png)](https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/dont-touch-your-face\/id1501774973) [![Listen on Spotify](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/spotify-logo.png)](https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7vyK6lbw1ydDJJjVR5SOe0?si=I53MaKqERtyuuwK3PC1A-A) [Learn More](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/podcasts\/dont-touch-your-face-coronavirus-podcast\/ \"Learn more\")\n\nUnsurprisingly, authoritarian governments, such as China’s, do not like sharing news about their ignorance and do not like cooperating with other governments. As Danielle Pletka recently [argued](https:\/\/thedispatch.com\/p\/how-dictatorships-make-pandemics), Xi’s “prime concern was not lives at risk, or containment of the virus, but rather the nation’s and his reputation, place in the global supply chain and his grip on power.” By contrast, “democratic leaders are not afraid of information, and as a result, can judge the efficacy of their efforts, can fine tune and adjust, and can respond to the flow of news in a way that optimizes life saving.” Pletka and others have accurately cataloged how Chinese leaders lied and tried to cover up the emergence of the coronavirus in December and January to save face.\n\nBut the problem goes deeper. Because the Chinese government is not accountable to its people, it has never bothered to police the safety and cleanliness of food and food markets effectively, which the United States and other developed democracies started doing in response to public and media pressure a century ago. Chinese policymakers never have to face the voters, which is why, for example, there was little lasting reform or meaningful accountability after a scandal in 2008 in which tens of thousands of Chinese infants fell ill and required hospitalization after drinking contaminated milk.\n\nSimply put, the Chinese government does not give a damn about the Chinese peopleSimply put, the Chinese government does not give a damn about the Chinese people., which is why it ignores markets where the food is filthy and carries disease (not, despite what U.S. Sen. John Cornyn believes, because of [problems with Chinese culture](https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/nation\/2020\/03\/19\/coronavirus-china-cornyn-blame\/)). Those markets have now killed thousands of Chinese citizens—and they also turn out to be the greatest threat to the national security and economy of the United States and other countries in 2020. That the Chinese government, beginning in late 2019, lied and directly contributed to the creation of a global pandemic, the deaths of thousands of people, and a global economic collapse, is evidently true, and they deserve blame and accountability for it.\n\n## Read More\n- [![coronavirus-world-after-brian-stauffer-illustration\\_response5](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/coronavirus-world-after-brian-stauffer-illustration_response5.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/20\/world-order-after-coroanvirus-pandemic\/)\n  \n  coronavirus-world-after-brian-stauffer-illustration\\_response5\n  \n  [How the World Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/20\/world-order-after-coroanvirus-pandemic\/)\n  \n  The pandemic will change the world forever. We asked 12 leading global thinkers for their predictions.\n  \n  [Analysis](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/channel\/analysis\/)\n  \n  \\|\n  \n  [John R. Allen](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/john-r-allen\/),  [Nicholas Burns](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/nicholas-burns\/),  [Laurie Garrett](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/laurie-garrett\/),  [Richard N. Haass](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/richard-n-haass\/),  [G. John Ikenberry](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/g-john-ikenberry\/),  [Kishore Mahbubani](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/kishore-mahbubani\/),  [Shivshankar Menon](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/shivshankar-menon\/),  [Robin Niblett](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/robin-niblett\/),  [Joseph S. Nye Jr.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/joseph-s-nye-jr\/),  [Shannon K. O'Neil](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/shannon-k-oneil\/),  [Kori Schake](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/kori-schake\/),  [Stephen M. Walt](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/stephen-m-walt\/),  [Stefan Theil](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/stefan-theil\/)\n- [![A Chinese man wears a protective mask](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/GettyImages-1202253960.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/20\/china-coronavirus-propaganda-war-journalists-press-freedom\/)\n  \n  A Chinese man wears a protective mask\n  \n  [China Is Fighting the Coronavirus Propaganda War to Win](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/20\/china-coronavirus-propaganda-war-journalists-press-freedom\/)\n  \n  Beijing isn’t interested in a tit-for-tat media feud with the United States—it’s going for escalation dominance.\n  \n  [Voice](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/analysis\/voice\/)\n  \n  \\|\n  \n  [Suzanne Nossel](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/suzanne-nossel\/)\n\nBut the Chinese government’s record in the recent crisis is only the tip of an iceberg. The same government is responsible for genocide against the Uighur people, violating international law in the South China Sea, wholesale intellectual property theft from and cyber-espionage against the United States and its allies, one of the worst records of environmental pollution in the world, the invention of a new type of technology-powered totalitarian surveillance state, and more.\n\nThe Chinese government, not the wet markets, is the most thoroughly diseased and decaying institution in the world. It is the most powerful institution on the planet that daily opposes human freedom, human flourishing, and human dignity. Was it surprising that, by its very nature, it would aid and abet a global crisis that will kill thousands, sicken millions, and impoverish billions?\n\nRegardless of what we call the virus (I’m partial to naming it after the Chinese Communist Party and calling it the “CCP virus”), blaming China is not the thing that “politicizes” the COVID-19 pandemic, because the pandemic is already political. The political dimension of this crisis means we must seek accountability to prevent its recurrence—and accountability begins with casting blame where it is due.\n\nWhile U.S. policymakers bungled their response and exacerbated the crisis as a result—particularly through Trump’s repeated false statements and lack of urgency— the Chinese government is most directly responsible for the governance failures that have now unleashed untold suffering and economic collapse on the world. Its mendacity and incompetence should cause politicians, policymakers, and business leaders across the world to reconsider their willingness to engage and do business with China until it proves itself a responsible actor on the world stage.\n\n**Paul D. Miller** is a professor of the practice of international affairs at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He served as director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the U.S. National Security Council staff from 2007 through 2009. X: [@PaulDMiller2 ‏](http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/PaulDMiller2%20%E2%80%8F)\n\nRead More On  [China](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/tag\/china\/) \\| [Democracy](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/tag\/democracy\/) \\| [Health](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/tag\/health\/) \\| [Pandemics](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/tag\/pandemics\/)\n\n### OTHER SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS\n#### [Academic Rates](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe-academic\/?tpcc=hardwall_academic)\n[Specialty rates for students and faculty.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/subscribe-academic\/?tpcc=hardwall_academic)\n\n#### [Multi-year](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/multi-year\/?tpcc=hardwall_multiyear)\n[Lock in your rates for longer.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/multi-year\/?tpcc=hardwall_multiyear)\n\n#### [Groups](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/group-subscriptions\/?tpcc=hardwall_groups)\n[Equip your organization with powerful global intelligence.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/group-subscriptions\/?tpcc=hardwall_groups)\n\n## Stories Readers Liked\n- Go to slide 1\n- Go to slide 2\n- Go to slide 3\n- Go to slide 4\n- Go to slide 5\n- Go to slide 6\n- Go to slide 7\n- Go to slide 8\n- Go to slide 9\n- Go to slide 10\n\n- [![An illustration collage featuring a profile portrait of a man in a suit on the right side. The left side shows a stylized orange silhouette of his head containing the Great Seal of the United States. The background consists of a dark map of the Middle East with various locations labeled, including Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Iran. The overall color palette uses dark tones with high-contrast red and white accents.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1-Brett-McGurk-Middle-east-policy-portrait-joan-wong-illustration-vertical-v2.jpg?w=700&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/04\/09\/brett-mcgurk-middle-east-israel-gaza-iran\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  An illustration collage featuring a profile portrait of a man in a suit on the right side. The left side shows a stylized orange silhouette of his head containing the Great Seal of the United States. The background consists of a dark map of the Middle East with various locations labeled, including Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Iran. The overall color palette uses dark tones with high-contrast red and white accents.\n  \n  [The Man Who Shaped Washington’s View of the Middle East ![This article has an audio recording](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/themes\/foreign-policy-2017\/assets\/src\/images\/icons\/audio.svg)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/04\/09\/brett-mcgurk-middle-east-israel-gaza-iran\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Dion Nissenbaum](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/dion-nissenbaum\/)\n- [![An illustration with a world map background texture and fire cutting through three rings in the map with three human figures inside.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-world-after-trump-brian-stauffer-illustration.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/03\/23\/post-trump-world-order-cold-war-spheres-of-influence\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  An illustration with a world map background texture and fire cutting through three rings in the map with three human figures inside.\n  \n  [Three Scenarios for a Post-Trump World ![This article has an audio recording](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/themes\/foreign-policy-2017\/assets\/src\/images\/icons\/audio.svg)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/03\/23\/post-trump-world-order-cold-war-spheres-of-influence\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Hal Brands](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/hal-brands\/)\n- [![An illustration shows semiconductor chips structured like a house of cards with a tiny city with government buildings atop it, ready to topple.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-AI-doomsday-house-of-cards-doug-chayka-illustration.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/03\/24\/ai-artificial-intelligence-doomsday-iran-war\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  An illustration shows semiconductor chips structured like a house of cards with a tiny city with government buildings atop it, ready to topple.\n  \n  [As an AI Scholar, I Am Now Putting a High Probability on an AI Doomsday ![This article has an audio recording](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/themes\/foreign-policy-2017\/assets\/src\/images\/icons\/audio.svg)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/03\/24\/ai-artificial-intelligence-doomsday-iran-war\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Bhaskar Chakravorti](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/bhaskar-chakravorti\/)\n- [![Two dozen or so scattered pedestrians walking on a large plaza are seen from overhead. There is a giant world map embedded in the pavement, with China highlighted in a dark red and all the other countries in pale gray.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/china-map-GettyImages-2262840218.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/03\/25\/china-us-russia-sphere-influence-geopolitics-competition\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  Two dozen or so scattered pedestrians walking on a large plaza are seen from overhead. There is a giant world map embedded in the pavement, with China highlighted in a dark red and all the other countries in pale gray.\n  \n  [No, China Doesn’t Want Spheres of Influence ![This article has an audio recording](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/themes\/foreign-policy-2017\/assets\/src\/images\/icons\/audio.svg)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/03\/25\/china-us-russia-sphere-influence-geopolitics-competition\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Aaron Glasserman](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/aaron-glasserman\/)\n- [![A photo illustration shows fractured colored shard revealing images of nation states in decline: an upside down U.S. Capitol building, the EU building in Brussels, broken columns, part of Donald Trump's head, explosions in the Middle East, and a tank in Ukraine.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-doomsday-books-nation-state-illustration-2188671579.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/03\/27\/book-review-after-nations-dasgupta-westad-prasad-milanovic\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  A photo illustration shows fractured colored shard revealing images of nation states in decline: an upside down U.S. Capitol building, the EU building in Brussels, broken columns, part of Donald Trump's head, explosions in the Middle East, and a tank in Ukraine.\n  \n  [After the Nation-State](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/03\/27\/book-review-after-nations-dasgupta-westad-prasad-milanovic\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Michael Hirsh](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/michael-hirsh\/)\n- [![A photo illustration showing six classical Greek or Roman-style columns, plus a stack of televisions as the seventh pillar of populism. The TVs show images of Victor Orban, Narendra Modi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Donald Trump.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1-trump-orban-modi-erdogan-Pillars-populism-2026.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/19\/trump-erdogan-orban-modi-india-hungary-turkey-populism-corruptionthe-seven-pillars-of-populist-foreign-policy\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  A photo illustration showing six classical Greek or Roman-style columns, plus a stack of televisions as the seventh pillar of populism. The TVs show images of Victor Orban, Narendra Modi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Donald Trump.\n  \n  [The Seven Pillars of Populist Foreign Policy](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/19\/trump-erdogan-orban-modi-india-hungary-turkey-populism-corruptionthe-seven-pillars-of-populist-foreign-policy\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Lisel Hintz](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/lisel-hintz\/),  [Berk Esen](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/berk-esen\/),  [Tudor Onea](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/tudor-onea\/)\n- [![An illustration of a tombstone reading \"RIP\" appears in place of a globe on a circular stand.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/International-order-dead-foreign-policy-illustration.png?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/09\/liberal-international-order-death-trump-greenland\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  An illustration of a tombstone reading \"RIP\" appears in place of a globe on a circular stand.\n  \n  [Who Killed the Liberal International Order? ![This article has an audio recording](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/themes\/foreign-policy-2017\/assets\/src\/images\/icons\/audio.svg)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/02\/09\/liberal-international-order-death-trump-greenland\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Nick Danforth](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/nick-danforth\/)\n- [![Central American migrant children play on a seesaw at a shelter in Ciudad Juárez, state of Chihuahua, Mexico.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-1231954938.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/01\/23\/trump-threats-europe-greenland-balance-power\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  Central American migrant children play on a seesaw at a shelter in Ciudad Juárez, state of Chihuahua, Mexico.\n  \n  [The Balance-of-Power Theory Strikes Again ![This article has an audio recording](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/themes\/foreign-policy-2017\/assets\/src\/images\/icons\/audio.svg)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/01\/23\/trump-threats-europe-greenland-balance-power\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Stephen M. Walt](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/stephen-m-walt\/)\n- [![A man in a coat outside of a glass office building, with high rise buildings under construction in the background.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/China-tech-dragon-development-tech-GettyImages-2187442299.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/10\/china-tech-ai-innovation-economy-stagnation\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  A man in a coat outside of a glass office building, with high rise buildings under construction in the background.\n  \n  [China’s Tech Obsession Is Weighing Down Its Economy](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/10\/10\/china-tech-ai-innovation-economy-stagnation\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Scott Kennedy](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/scott-kennedy\/),  [Scott Rozelle](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/scott-rozelle\/)\n- [![Photos of two men speaking each shown as a negative color inside a red and blue circle.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Kissinger-brzezinski-realism-foreign-policy-illustratrion.png?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/01\/kissinger-brzezinski-trump-realism-realist-democracy-human-rights-us\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  Photos of two men speaking each shown as a negative color inside a red and blue circle.\n  \n  [Kissinger, Brzezinski, and the Promise of Realism ![This article has an audio recording](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/themes\/foreign-policy-2017\/assets\/src\/images\/icons\/audio.svg)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/08\/01\/kissinger-brzezinski-trump-realism-realist-democracy-human-rights-us\/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524)\n  \n  By  [Daniel Fried](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/author\/daniel-fried\/)\n\n## Iran War\n- [![A satellite view of Dubai International Airport on March 16 after a drone strike ignited a fuel tank fire, causing global travel disruptions.](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dubai_GettyImages-2267207634.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/04\/10\/gulf-states-iran-war-united-arab-emirates-saudi-arabia-qatar-strikes-us-israel\/?tpcc=recirc_featured_horizontal051524)\n  \n  A satellite view of Dubai International Airport on March 16 after a drone strike ignited a fuel tank fire, causing global travel disruptions.\n  \n  [Where Do the Gulf States Go From Here? ![This article has an audio recording](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/wp-content\/themes\/foreign-policy-2017\/assets\/src\/images\/icons\/audio.svg)](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2026\/04\/10\/gulf-states-iran-war-united-arab-emirates-saudi-arabia-qatar-strikes-us-israel\/?tpcc=recirc_featured_horizontal051524)\n  \n  [Analysis](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/channel\/analysis\/)\n  \n  \\|\n  \n  [Steven A. 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All contents (c) 2026, Graham Digital Holding Company. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 1099 14th St NW, Suite 500 East, Washington, D.C., 20005.\n\nPowered by [WordPress VIP](https:\/\/wpvip.com\/?utm_source=vip_powered_wpcom&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=VIP%20Footer%20Credit&utm_term=foreignpolicy.com)\n\n![](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tr?id=203988873637408&ev=PageView&noscript=1)\n\n![Quantcast](https:\/\/pixel.quantserve.com\/pixel\/p-FtKjv2mvnYjUe.gif)","attrs_readable_markdown":"[My FP:](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/myfp) Follow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers. [Subscribe Now](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/25\/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic\/) \\| [Log In](https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2020\/03\/25\/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic\/)\n\nU.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” when talking about the pandemic. Many of his critics insist the term is racist, echoing official Chinese talking points. Others, such as U.S. Sen. [Kelly Loeffler](https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenatorLoeffler\/status\/1240778388295598080), say that we should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders.\n\nThis is nonsense. The crisis is inherently political because it was caused in part by incompetent, malicious, and corrupt politicians. To ignore the political dimension of the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent way to ensure it happens again. If we do not want another global pandemic, we have to hold accountable the politicians responsible for making it worse, chief among them Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not create the novel coronavirus, but his government’s missteps are directly responsible for its global transmission and uncontrolled spread, with all its terrible consequences to populations and economies around the world.","meta_canonical":null}

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Boilerpipe Text	My FP: Follow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers. Subscribe Now \| Log In U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” when talking about the pandemic. Many of his critics insist the term is racist, echoing official Chinese talking points. Others, such as U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler , say that we should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders. This is nonsense. The crisis is inherently political because it was caused in part by incompetent, malicious, and corrupt politicians. To ignore the political dimension of the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent way to ensure it happens again. If we do not want another global pandemic, we have to hold accountable the politicians responsible for making it worse, chief among them Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not create the novel coronavirus, but his government’s missteps are directly responsible for its global transmission and uncontrolled spread, with all its terrible consequences to populations and economies around the world.
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All contents (c) 2026, Graham Digital Holding Company. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 1099 14th St NW, Suite 500 East, Washington, D.C., 20005. Powered by [WordPress VIP](https://wpvip.com/?utm_source=vip_powered_wpcom&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=VIP%20Footer%20Credit&utm_term=foreignpolicy.com) This article was published more than 6 years ago [Elephants in the Room](https://foreignpolicy.com/channel/elephants-in-the-room/) # Yes, Blame China for the Virus ## A bungled response in Western countries is no reason to take the heat off China. If China had a different government, the world could have been spared this terrible pandemic. By [Paul D. Miller](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/paul-d-miller/) ![Posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping are plastered on the ground during protests at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on Sept. 26, 2019.](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1171563636.jpg?quality=90) Posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping are plastered on the ground during protests at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on Sept. 26, 2019. Posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping are plastered on the ground during protests at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on Sept. 26, 2019. Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images [My FP:](https://foreignpolicy.com/myfp) Follow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers. [Subscribe Now](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/25/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic/) \\| [Log In](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/25/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic/) - Health - Pandemics - China March 25, 2020, 10:43 AM U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” when talking about the pandemic. Many of his critics insist the term is racist, echoing official Chinese talking points. Others, such as U.S. Sen. [Kelly Loeffler](https://twitter.com/SenatorLoeffler/status/1240778388295598080), say that we should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders. This is nonsense. The crisis is inherently political because it was caused in part by incompetent, malicious, and corrupt politicians. To ignore the political dimension of the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent way to ensure it happens again. If we do not want another global pandemic, we have to hold accountable the politicians responsible for making it worse, chief among them Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not create the novel coronavirus, but his government’s missteps are directly responsible for its global transmission and uncontrolled spread, with all its terrible consequences to populations and economies around the world. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” when talking about the pandemic. Many of his critics insist the term is racist, echoing official Chinese talking points. Others, such as U.S. Sen. [Kelly Loeffler](https://twitter.com/SenatorLoeffler/status/1240778388295598080), say that we should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders. [![](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Inset_label_Coronavirus.png)](https://foreignpolicy.com/projects/coronavirus-wuhan-china-pandemic-outbreak-guide-2020/) This is nonsense. The crisis is inherently political because it was caused in part by incompetent, malicious, and corrupt politicians. To ignore the political dimension of the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent way to ensure it happens again. If we do not want another global pandemic, we have to hold accountable the politicians responsible for making it worse, chief among them Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not create the novel coronavirus, but his government’s missteps are directly responsible for its global transmission and uncontrolled spread, with all its terrible consequences to populations and economies around the world. Xi Jinping did not create the virus, but his government is directly responsible for its global spread, and its terrible consequences for people and economies around the world. A global pandemic is not a blind force of nature independent of human agency. It is a failure of governance. An analogy with famines is useful. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has explained in his excellent book, [Development as Freedom](https://www.amazon.com/Development-as-Freedom-Amartya-Sen/dp/0385720270/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XA3U8SYRKCKI&keywords=amartya+sen+development+as+freedom&qid=1584699034&sprefix=amarty%252Caps%252C133&sr=8-1), that famines are not primarily an absence of food, but an absence of information about food, coupled with a problem of transportation. There is, physically speaking, enough food on the planet for everyone. If you know where food is and where hungry people are, and you can get the one to the other, people do not starve. That is why established free-market democracies, which allow the free flow of information and markets, have no famines. \[[Mapping the Coronavirus Outbreak:](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/04/mapping-coronavirus-outbreak-infographic/) Get daily updates on the pandemic and learn how it’s affecting countries around the world.\] Similarly, a global pandemic does not happen every time a novel infectious pathogen emerges. It happens when there is an absence of accurate information about the pathogen and a failure of basic public services—in this case, the failure to regulate food and marketplaces to prevent the transmission of pathogens, and the failure to shut down transportation and control movement once it spreads. When authorities regulate public health, share information about a pathogen, and cooperate to control its movement, diseases are contained and pandemics are unlikely. These are problems of governance, not science. Governments have to act like they are responsible for public health. They have to welcome transparency, willingly share information (even about their failures and ignorance), and order their bureaucracies to cooperate with one another, with international health organizations, and with foreign governments. Good governance responds to public demand, rewards the free flow of information, including bad news, and rewards cooperation in the public interest, even when it goes against parochial bureaucratic self-interest. Bad governance does the opposite. ![Don't Touch Your Face podcast](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/dont-touch-your-face-coronavirus-foreign-policy-podcast-logo.jpg) [![Listen on Apple podcasts](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/apple-podcasts-logo.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dont-touch-your-face/id1501774973) [![Listen on Spotify](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/spotify-logo.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/7vyK6lbw1ydDJJjVR5SOe0?si=I53MaKqERtyuuwK3PC1A-A) ### Listen Now: Don't Touch Your Face A new podcast from Foreign Policy covering all aspects of the coronavirus pandemic [![Listen on Apple podcasts](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/apple-podcasts-logo.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dont-touch-your-face/id1501774973) [![Listen on Spotify](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/spotify-logo.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/7vyK6lbw1ydDJJjVR5SOe0?si=I53MaKqERtyuuwK3PC1A-A) [Learn More](https://foreignpolicy.com/podcasts/dont-touch-your-face-coronavirus-podcast/ "Learn more") Unsurprisingly, authoritarian governments, such as China’s, do not like sharing news about their ignorance and do not like cooperating with other governments. As Danielle Pletka recently [argued](https://thedispatch.com/p/how-dictatorships-make-pandemics), Xi’s “prime concern was not lives at risk, or containment of the virus, but rather the nation’s and his reputation, place in the global supply chain and his grip on power.” By contrast, “democratic leaders are not afraid of information, and as a result, can judge the efficacy of their efforts, can fine tune and adjust, and can respond to the flow of news in a way that optimizes life saving.” Pletka and others have accurately cataloged how Chinese leaders lied and tried to cover up the emergence of the coronavirus in December and January to save face. But the problem goes deeper. Because the Chinese government is not accountable to its people, it has never bothered to police the safety and cleanliness of food and food markets effectively, which the United States and other developed democracies started doing in response to public and media pressure a century ago. Chinese policymakers never have to face the voters, which is why, for example, there was little lasting reform or meaningful accountability after a scandal in 2008 in which tens of thousands of Chinese infants fell ill and required hospitalization after drinking contaminated milk. Simply put, the Chinese government does not give a damn about the Chinese peopleSimply put, the Chinese government does not give a damn about the Chinese people., which is why it ignores markets where the food is filthy and carries disease (not, despite what U.S. Sen. John Cornyn believes, because of [problems with Chinese culture](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/19/coronavirus-china-cornyn-blame/)). Those markets have now killed thousands of Chinese citizens—and they also turn out to be the greatest threat to the national security and economy of the United States and other countries in 2020. That the Chinese government, beginning in late 2019, lied and directly contributed to the creation of a global pandemic, the deaths of thousands of people, and a global economic collapse, is evidently true, and they deserve blame and accountability for it. ## Read More - [![coronavirus-world-after-brian-stauffer-illustration\_response5](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/coronavirus-world-after-brian-stauffer-illustration_response5.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/20/world-order-after-coroanvirus-pandemic/) coronavirus-world-after-brian-stauffer-illustration\_response5 [How the World Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/20/world-order-after-coroanvirus-pandemic/) The pandemic will change the world forever. We asked 12 leading global thinkers for their predictions. [Analysis](https://foreignpolicy.com/channel/analysis/) \\| [John R. Allen](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/john-r-allen/), [Nicholas Burns](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/nicholas-burns/), [Laurie Garrett](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/laurie-garrett/), [Richard N. Haass](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/richard-n-haass/), [G. John Ikenberry](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/g-john-ikenberry/), [Kishore Mahbubani](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/kishore-mahbubani/), [Shivshankar Menon](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/shivshankar-menon/), [Robin Niblett](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/robin-niblett/), [Joseph S. Nye Jr.](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/joseph-s-nye-jr/), [Shannon K. O'Neil](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/shannon-k-oneil/), [Kori Schake](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/kori-schake/), [Stephen M. Walt](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/stephen-m-walt/), [Stefan Theil](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/stefan-theil/) - [![A Chinese man wears a protective mask](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/GettyImages-1202253960.jpg?w=800&quality=80)](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/20/china-coronavirus-propaganda-war-journalists-press-freedom/) A Chinese man wears a protective mask [China Is Fighting the Coronavirus Propaganda War to Win](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/20/china-coronavirus-propaganda-war-journalists-press-freedom/) Beijing isn’t interested in a tit-for-tat media feud with the United States—it’s going for escalation dominance. [Voice](https://foreignpolicy.com/category/analysis/voice/) \\| [Suzanne Nossel](https://foreignpolicy.com/author/suzanne-nossel/) But the Chinese government’s record in the recent crisis is only the tip of an iceberg. The same government is responsible for genocide against the Uighur people, violating international law in the South China Sea, wholesale intellectual property theft from and cyber-espionage against the United States and its allies, one of the worst records of environmental pollution in the world, the invention of a new type of technology-powered totalitarian surveillance state, and more. The Chinese government, not the wet markets, is the most thoroughly diseased and decaying institution in the world. It is the most powerful institution on the planet that daily opposes human freedom, human flourishing, and human dignity. Was it surprising that, by its very nature, it would aid and abet a global crisis that will kill thousands, sicken millions, and impoverish billions? Regardless of what we call the virus (I’m partial to naming it after the Chinese Communist Party and calling it the “CCP virus”), blaming China is not the thing that “politicizes” the COVID-19 pandemic, because the pandemic is already political. The political dimension of this crisis means we must seek accountability to prevent its recurrence—and accountability begins with casting blame where it is due. While U.S. policymakers bungled their response and exacerbated the crisis as a result—particularly through Trump’s repeated false statements and lack of urgency— the Chinese government is most directly responsible for the governance failures that have now unleashed untold suffering and economic collapse on the world. Its mendacity and incompetence should cause politicians, policymakers, and business leaders across the world to reconsider their willingness to engage and do business with China until it proves itself a responsible actor on the world stage. Paul D. Miller is a professor of the practice of international affairs at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. He served as director for Afghanistan and Pakistan on the U.S. National Security Council staff from 2007 through 2009. X: [@PaulDMiller2 ‏](http://www.twitter.com/PaulDMiller2%20%E2%80%8F) Read More On [China](https://foreignpolicy.com/tag/china/) \\| [Democracy](https://foreignpolicy.com/tag/democracy/) \\| [Health](https://foreignpolicy.com/tag/health/) \\| [Pandemics](https://foreignpolicy.com/tag/pandemics/) ### OTHER SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS #### [Academic Rates](https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe-academic/?tpcc=hardwall_academic) [Specialty rates for students and faculty.](https://foreignpolicy.com/subscribe-academic/?tpcc=hardwall_academic) #### [Multi-year](https://foreignpolicy.com/multi-year/?tpcc=hardwall_multiyear) [Lock in your rates for longer.](https://foreignpolicy.com/multi-year/?tpcc=hardwall_multiyear) #### [Groups](https://foreignpolicy.com/group-subscriptions/?tpcc=hardwall_groups) [Equip your organization with powerful global intelligence.](https://foreignpolicy.com/group-subscriptions/?tpcc=hardwall_groups) ## Stories Readers Liked - Go to slide 1 - Go to slide 2 - Go to slide 3 - Go to slide 4 - Go to slide 5 - Go to slide 6 - Go to slide 7 - Go to slide 8 - Go to slide 9 - Go to slide 10 - [![An illustration collage featuring a profile portrait of a man in a suit on the right side. The left side shows a stylized orange silhouette of his head containing the Great Seal of the United States. The background consists of a dark map of the Middle East with various locations labeled, including Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Iran. The overall color palette uses dark tones with high-contrast red and white accents.](https://foreignpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1-Brett-McGurk-Middle-east-policy-portrait-joan-wong-illustration-vertical-v2.jpg?w=700&quality=80)](https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/09/brett-mcgurk-middle-east-israel-gaza-iran/?tpcc=recirc_more_from_fp051524) An illustration collage featuring a profile portrait of a man in a suit on the right side. The left side shows a stylized orange silhouette of his head containing the Great Seal of the United States. The background consists of a dark map of the Middle East with various locations labeled, including Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Iran. 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Readable Markdown	[My FP:](https://foreignpolicy.com/myfp) Follow topics and authors to get straight to what you like. Exclusively for FP subscribers. [Subscribe Now](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/25/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic/) \\| [Log In](https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/25/blame-china-and-xi-jinping-for-coronavirus-pandemic/) U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the “Chinese virus” when talking about the pandemic. Many of his critics insist the term is racist, echoing official Chinese talking points. Others, such as U.S. Sen. [Kelly Loeffler](https://twitter.com/SenatorLoeffler/status/1240778388295598080), say that we should not politicize the crisis by assigning blame, but focus on pulling together in the common fight against a global disease that makes no distinction between people and recognizes no borders. This is nonsense. The crisis is inherently political because it was caused in part by incompetent, malicious, and corrupt politicians. To ignore the political dimension of the coronavirus pandemic is an excellent way to ensure it happens again. If we do not want another global pandemic, we have to hold accountable the politicians responsible for making it worse, chief among them Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not create the novel coronavirus, but his government’s missteps are directly responsible for its global transmission and uncontrolled spread, with all its terrible consequences to populations and economies around the world.
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