The Economist - USA (2020-03-21)

The EconomistMarch 21st 2020 Leaders 11

1

T

heflowofinformationisessentialtocurbinga pandemic.
YetonMarch17thChinatooka dramaticsteptowardsthrot-
tlingit.XiJinping’sgovernmentorderedAmericanjournalists
fortheNewYorkTimes, theWashingtonPostandtheWallStreet
Journaltoleavethecountry,inthebiggestexpulsionofWestern
correspondentsfromChinasincetheCommunisttakeoverin
1949.Theworldsorelyneedsobjectivereportingontheplace
with thelongestexperienceoffightingcovid-19. China,too,
lacksobjectivereportingaboutthevirusoranyothersensitive
topic.Attimeslikethispeopleneedmasks,notmuzzles.
TheexpulsionispartofanongoingfeudbetweenAmerica
andChina.Fora momentinJanuaryit seemedasif temperswere
cooling,whenbothsideswiselyagreedtosuspendtheirtrade
war. In recent weeks the temperature has
reachedboiling-point.Ina stunningfailureof
diplomacy,AmericanandChineseofficialshave
beentradinginsinuations,allbutblamingeach
otherforcovid-19.A fewChinesediplomatsand
Americanlawmakershavesharedpreposterous
conspiracytheoriesaboutthevirushavingbeen
cookedupinbiowarfarelabs.Enough,already.
Thetwopowersarebehavingmoreandmore
likecold-warrivals,tusslingineverydomain(seeChinasec-
tion). President Donald Trump’s administration made cgtn
America,a state-ownedbroadcaster,registerlastyearasa “for-
eignagent”andinFebruarydesignateditandfourotherstate-
mediaoutletsasforeignmissions,a declarationthattheirstaff
arepropagandists,notjournalists.Thisisa foolishbattleground
fora democracytopick.It cannotout-censoranauthoritarianre-
gime.Inevitably,a tit-for-tatcyclehasensued.LastmonthChina
expelledthreecorrespondentsoftheWallStreetJournal, citinga
singleoffensiveheadline.MrTrumpthenbootedout 60 staff
fromChinesestate-ownedmedia.NowChinahasshutoutmany
ofthefinestreportersonitsterritory.
OnealarmingimplicationconcernsHongKong.Theexpelled

Americanshavebeentoldtheycannotworkthereeither.This

upendsa conventionthathaslargelyprevailedunderChinese

rulethatforeigncorrespondentsarefreetoworkintheterritory

evenifbarredfromthemainland.Chinahas,ineffect,scrapped

animportantfeatureofits“onecountry,twosystems”policy.

Butthemostalarmingconsequencesareglobal.Therewasa

time,morethana decadeago,whensomeAmericanstalkedopti-

misticallyabouta possible“g2”partnership.Theybelievedthat

AmericaandChina,foralltheirdifferences,couldtacklethe

world’schallengestogether.Thatnowseemslaughable.

AmericanshavecausetobeirkedbyChina’sbehaviour.West-

ernmediatherearesufferingevertighterrestrictions.Chinese

officialshavebecomeblunterintheirwarnings:carryonreport-

inglikethatonXinjiang’sgulagforMuslims,or

onthefinancesofpowerfulfamilies,andyour

visamaynotberenewed.ButwhenAmericaex-

pelsChinesemediaworkers,itdoesnotmake

thingsbetter.Onthecontrary,itgivesChinaa

pretexttotreatAmericanreportersasifthey

representAmerica—whichtheydonot.

MrTrumpmayshrug.Henevercaredmuch

forpressfreedom.LikemanyChineseofficials,

hedismissesunwelcomereportingas“fakenews”.Tohim,jour-

nalistsarecollateraldamageinastrugglewithChinathatis

aboutsomethingbigger:ensuringthatAmericaretainsitspre-

eminence.Thiszero-sumapproachfurtherpoisonsa sourrela-

tionship.It alsomakesit hardertograpplewithglobalproblems.

Duringthefinancialcrisisof2007-09,ChinaandAmericadid

managetotalktoeachotherabouthowtosavetheworldfrom

economicruin.Theirabilitytoco-ordinatewasa hugehelp.To-

day’sdisasterrequirestheirco-operationallthemore.Instead,

bothcountriesaretreatingcovid-19asa trialofstrengthbetween

competingpoliticalsystems.Thataugursbadlyforglobalefforts

tofightthepandemic—andfortheworldthatwillemergewhen

thevirushaseventuallybeentamed. 7

Stop deporting reporters

America cannot and should not compete with China when it comes to expelling journalists

Free speech

G

uyana is minuscule. Its population of 780,000 is roughly

that of Seattle. But it has recently struck oil. ExxonMobil,

which holds the biggest share of the licence to the first produc-

tive offshore block, reckons that 8bn barrels can be pumped out

of it. That puts Guyana’s reserves among the world’s top 20.

Petrodollars could soon transform Guyana from South America’s

third-poorest country into one of the richest.

The power to begin spending that bonanza was at stake in the

general election held on March 2nd, the first since oil started

flowing. The weeks since have been chaotic. No overall result has

been declared. The opposition and outside observers suspect

that the president, David Granger, lost his bid for re-election. He

may be plotting to have himself sworn in for a second term re-

gardless. The danger to democracy is obvious. A government that

lacks legitimacy would be more likely to squander Guyana’s

newfound oil wealth.

Its politics is set up to fail its citizens. Party divisions follow

ethnic ones. Mr Granger’s A Partnership for National Unity rep-

resents mainly Afro-Guyanese, who are 30% of the population.

The opposition People’s Progressive Party (ppp) defends princi-

pally the interests of the Indo-Guyanese, 40% of the total. The

rift is made worse by an electoral system that makes members of

Petro power struggle

If Guyana’s election is stolen, its oil windfall will surely be squandered

Guyana