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Eduardo Bolsonaro's comments about the 'China Virus' were stupid and short-sighted, particularly at a time when Brazil will almost certainly depend on Chinese medical equipment during the pandemic. But China's reaction is equally ill-advised [thread] https://oglobo.globo.com/opiniao/artigo-valorizeas-relacoes-china-brasildeputado-eduardo-24350358?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=compartilhar
The op-ed by China's Consul in Rio (link above) is aggressive & seeks to humiliate the president's son. China may try to set a precedent to assure that nobody else ever dares to repeat Eduardo Bolsonaro's strategy of blaming China for the pandemic. But it has already backfired.
Yesterday, Brazil's Minister of Education ridiculed China in a tweet, revealing a very troubling dynamic: attacking China has now become a way for cabinet ministers to consolidate support among Bolsonaro's most radical faction, which has strong influence over the president.
The unusually strong language used by China's Consul General in Rio, basically calling Eduardo Bolsonaro an idiot who has been brainwashed by the United States, shows that China is not afraid of keeping the conflict alive -- it may even have an interest in escalating it.
This strategy is a sign of Chinese confidence that Bolsonaro will go to great lengths and grovel and ask China for forgiveness, given its economic dependence. But it'll produce colateral damage that may sow the seeds of anti-China sentiment across Brazil later on.
Indeed, many Brazilians who dislike Eduardo Bolsonaro and are ashamed of him will recognize that a foreign diplomat writing an op-ed attacking a democratically elected Brazilian congressman in such a personal way sets a worrisome precedent.
For those who think this op-ed is an exception, I can assure you that it is part of a broader trend: around the world, Chinese diplomats have adopted a new, much more assertive and at times aggressive tone that would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
None of this changes the fact that Brazilian officials who are criticizing China today for political gain -- knowing that Chinese medical aid is likely to save thousands of Brazilian lives in the coming weeks -- is stupid, immoral and reckless.
