"Chinese leaders saw the 2008 financial crash as a historic shift in the global order, a telltale sign of decline in American power and influence. Now they see the U.S. response to the coronavirus in a similar light, and they have ramped up their propaganda in an attempt to seize the initiative, Ely Ratner of the Center for a New American Security think tank, said. "'Beijing is going for the knockout punch. There's no hiding what they're doing here,' said Ratner, [...]

"Testifying before a U.S. Congressional Commission, Ely Ratner, executive director of the Center for a New American Security, warned, 'The United States is losing this competition in ways that increase the likelihood not just of the crumbling of the U.S.-led order in Asia, but also the rise of a China-dominated region.' In such a scenario, he cautioned, 'the region will be less free, less open, and less inclusive than it is today,' and it would take 'generations (at least) to revive [...]

“‘I think it's a really hard policy problem for the United States in part because there needs to be some sort of rule here of "Do no harm,"’ Ely Ratner, deputy director of national security for former vice-president Joe Biden, said during a discussion hosted by the National Committee on US-China Relations in Washington on Monday. “‘There are parts of that bill that are important in terms of some of the reporting requirements, but this lever of the autonomy status of [...]