Ian Bremmer: No one is 'taking the lead internationally' on coronavirus response, China filling void
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G-Zero Media president, Ian Bremmer, said on Tuesday that on an international level, the United States is not providing leadership during the coronavirus response, opening an opportunity for China to step in.
“No one is taking the lead internationally right now,” Bremmer told “America’s Newsroom."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“The U.S. response domestically, though late, is now pretty coordinated and pretty strong. Certainly on the economic and on fiscal and monetary policy," he said.
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Meantime, Chinese officials, who are desperate to recast the country as a global leader that has conquered the coronavirus, have been saying that its death rates are decreasing in the city of Wuhan. The problem, residents say, is that the numbers don't add up.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wuhan, the first epicenter of the global outbreak, began lifting its two-month lockdown over the weekend. The city in Central China restarted some subway service, reopened its borders and allowed families to reunite.
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The move is part of Beijing's choreographed campaign to mark a turning point in China's fight against the deadly virus, which has spread around much of the world and has infected over 732,000 people as of Monday morning. Of those, 34,686 people have died.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bremmer said that although the outbreak started in China and the government covered it up, they are taking advantage of the United States’ lack of leadership during the public health crisis.
“They are the ones out there that are engaging in much stronger diplomacy, they’re of course critical for the medical supply chain, and they’re doing a lot more for humanitarian aid. Something that we’ve never seen from the Chinese after previous crises," he said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"From an international perspective, the United States is seen as really not there right now," he said, adding that Beijing "smells a big opportunity" to be seen as a global leader.
Bremmer said China's fatalities from coronavirus were clearly undercounted and that Chinese officials are not acting responsibly by refusing to share key information about cases and patients.
Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.