After such a long and devastating pandemic, we are all entitled to the truth about its origins. But with political stakes so high, finding out the facts may…
Such a shift in views about the origins of the virus would deal a severe blow to China’s soft power. Awareness of that possibility helps to explain why the nation has been so sensitive about this subject. Chinese officials have not only hotly denied the possibility of a lab leak, they have even downplayed that China was the source of the virus in any way. They have argued that the pandemic had multiple origin points , was spread through imported frozen food or escaped from a U.S.
Even a belief in a cover-up without firm evidence of wrongdoing would be damaging, highlighting the disinformation that’s endemic to China’s authoritarian system and hurting the nation’s reputation as a reliable international partner. There are certainly steps it could take to repair its tarnished image.
But there would also be significant downsides if the lab-leak hypothesis comes to be seen as correct — and not just for China. Most scientists who entertain the possibility believe that, if a leak did occur, it was inadvertent and possibly unwitting — even if “gain of function” research exploring how the virus might become more transmissible played a part. But Trump and his supporters have entertained darker theories.
Chinese leaders would face domestic pressure, as well. The Communist party maintains its legitimacy in part because of its perceived competence at running the economy and other matters. Some Chinese citizens who feel deceived might question — if quietly, at first — whether the party is fit to rule. To defuse the budding unrest, the party might further stir up nationalism, another pillar of its legitimacy, and portray the accusations as just another dirty plot by the United States and its allies.
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