Covid-19, China and the future of global development

Abstract

Tensions between the United States and China have been escalating in recent years, and the Covid-19 pandemic has intensified their competition. If sustained, China's more effective public health response and economic restart will burnish its leadership credentials in the field of global development. This article lays out the origins and distinctive features of China's development policies and vision, and argues that in a post-Covid world these may constitute an appealing alternative to the US-led development paradigm for many developing countries. We contrast the universalism and rigidity of contemporary development orthodoxy with China's emphasis on bilateral and pragmatic forms of development cooperation borne out of its domestic experience. While Chinese development assistance and loans enhance its soft power, partner countries are offered significant autonomy and flexibility. We conclude by outlining three factors which may impact the future of Chinese leadership in the field of global development; a reconciliation of global financial governance and China's development lending, the outcome of the upcoming American presidential election and domestic discontent within China over the Belt and Road Initiative.

Rethinking African Futures after COVID-19

“…11 The reinvigoration of authoritarianism was a worldwide phenomenon in response to COVID-19. In Africa, this coincides with the geopolitical competition between China and the West, and further enhances Chinese leadership in development on the continent (Schindler et al, 2020). At the time of submission of this article, the pandemic is still on the advance in Africa.…”

“…What had previously been hailed as gateways to modernisation and prosperity – airports, roads, and trade corridors – became entry points for a potentially fatal threat. Similarly, the profound shift of development partnership from the West to the East (particularly China) among many African nations came into sharp critical focus following the spread of the pandemic (Schindler et al, 2020). This observation applies not only to the geography of trade and travel, but the position of Africa in the world, and it certainly deserves further attention in research.…”

Association of built environment attributes with the spread of COVID-19 at its initial stage in China

“…In considering the features of the BE in reflecting direct and indirect face-to-face communications, this study attempts to fill the research gaps by focusing on the spread of COVID-19 in its initial stage in China, measured by the ratio of accumulative confirmed infection cases. Studies on China have attracted various international attentions in terms of epidemic analysis (e.g., Ahmed et al, 2020 ; Han & Yang, 2020 ; Peng et al, 2020 ), policy measures (e.g., Aleta et al, 2020 ; Hasnain et al, 2020 ), environmental impacts (e.g., Giani et al, 2020 ), and global development (e.g., Schindler et al, 2020 ), etc. Such attentions may be because China’s responses can be a better reference for other countries to deal with both the current and future pandemics ( Altakarli, 2020 ; Xu et al, 2020 ).…”

Repurposing of Sitagliptin- Melittin Optimized Nanoformula against SARS-CoV-2; Antiviral Screening and Molecular Docking Studies

“…Owing to its epidemic levels, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in China has emerged as an urgent health and economic challenge [ 1 , 2 ]. There is, therefore, an ongoing race for strategies to treat or prevent COVID-19.…”