In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the images of China and the United States have been tarnished for different reasons. In the case of Beijing, its initial mishandling of the novel coronavirus outbreak and subsequent hard lockdown of Wuhan and Hebei Province revealed both the strengths and the weaknesses of its political system.
In contrast, despite early warnings of the severity of the virus, the U.S.’ handling of the pandemic has revealed the dysfunction in the U.S. political system and under U.S. President Donald Trump's leadership there have been over 100,000 COVID-19 deaths.
Internationally, the favorability ratings of both China and the U.S. continue to drop. A recent EU PEW survey released on May 18 showed only 37 percent of Germans viewed the U.S. in a favorable light. China fairs no better at 36 percent.