Coronavirus: is China playing the transparency card?

"The epidemic is a demon. We will not allow the demon to hide." Chinese President Xi Jinping, who spoke Wednesday, January 29, has vowed to be transparent in the face of the coronavirus crisis. In 2003, Beijing was accused of having concealed the appearance of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Does the regime seek today to restore its coat of arms?

According to the American authorities, China seems to be playing the game of cooperation with regard to this new coronavirus, the 2019-nCoV. The US president himself was the first to tweet on January 24 to salute "Beijing's efforts and transparency." Donald Trump even thanked his Chinese counterpart, with whom he has had a trade war since 2018.

China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!

The management of the health crisis by the Chinese authorities has also been praised by the World Health Organization (WHO). On a visit to Beijing, its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who met Xi Jinping "to discuss the next steps in the fight against the new coronavirus epidemic", stressed in a tweet "the seriousness with which China manages this crisis and the transparency shown by the authorities. "

Stopping the spread of the new #coronavirus both in #China and globally is @ WHO's highest priority. We are working closely with the 🇨🇳 government on measures to understand the virus and limit transmission. https://t.co/WGadkXEpP5

"Record time" to find the coronavirus genome

There are two reasons to explain this surge of confidence: the speed with which China alerted the WHO to the spread of the virus. By reporting the epidemic on December 29, Beijing has shown a real desire for transparency with international organizations. But it is above all the efficiency of Chinese teams to find and publish the entire genome of the virus that has been praised by the scientific community.

Did the Chinese regime learn from the previous SARS health crisis? "It is difficult to speak of total transparency when it comes to China, comments for France 24 Carine Milcent, author of a book in English on the Chinese health system, who believes that the final toll of SARS (774 dead , including 349 in Chinese territory) remains largely "undervalued".

But we must recognize "the multiple efforts of the Chinese government not to minimize the severity of the crisis," said the specialist. "Especially since the communication of the crisis was taken over by the national authorities last week," she said.

The regime has taken over the communication strategy

Before that, local authorities were widely criticized on social media for having delayed recognizing the crisis. "Internet users have criticized them for the lack of care for certain patients", adds for his part, the correspondent of RFI in China, Stéphane Lagarde.

Since then, the communication strategy has changed: Prime Minister Li Keqiang, in charge of the crisis cell, has acknowledged a "serious and complicated" situation. Like the governor of Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, Wang Xiaodong, who ended up admitting on Thursday "a serious shortage of equipment in hospitals in the region". For his part, the Minister of Health disseminates twice a day the reports on deaths and cases of contamination.

The second world economic power "always controls the information" that it communicates between what is broadcast nationally and internationally, notes Carine Milcent. "Externally, Beijing chooses to show the image of a strong country which manages the health crisis, but internally, it must manage its population, which numbers 1.4 billion people, and wants to avoid any hysteria", decrypts- she.

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