China’s role in the covid-19 outbreak has elicited a growing backlash. How will the pandemic reshape China’s domestic and international standing? And what consequences, if any, will these U.S. campaign strategies have? Here's 3 things to know: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/23/how-coronavirus-changes-political-outlook-china-us/

1. The pandemic may help the CCP at home. Some local U.S. officials have declared hopes that the coronavirus will bring an end to the Chinese Communist Party. But international efforts to subvert the CCP are likely to backfire, not bring about a friendier regime. 2/

2. Nationalism and xenophobia within China limit its international appeal, undercutting Chinese “mask diplomacy” and assistance to countries hit hard by covid-19. 3/

3. How will this play out in the U.S. elections? Some observers expect that China-bashing on the campaign trail is unlikely to affect either the election or future U.S. policy. Yet scholars have also shown campaign appeals can be an indicator of policy priorities. 4/

In my research with @AmberWichowsky, we found campaign ads on China — from both Democratic and Republican candidates during the 2010 congressional election — corresponded to an increase in co-sponsorship of China-related legislation after the election. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3581225 5/

Ads that criticize the “Chinese” and feature Americans of Asian descent will also aggravate anti-Asian hate crimes and assaults. So even if what candidates say on the campaign trail is not actual policy, such rhetoric could still have serious consequences. /end