La diplomacia china y la batalla por la verdad durante la pandemia de COVID-19. ¿Una lucha por la hegemonía?

Authors

Abstract

Este artículo analiza la diplomacia china en el año 2020 durante la pandemia de COVID-19 y la lucha por el control de narrativas cuya finalidad era construir una imagen favorable de China en el escenario internacional. Así, se asume que el surgimiento del COVID-19 representó un problema crítico para la legitimidad del Partido Comunista Chino (PCCH), obligando a las autoridades a luchar no solamente para contener la propagación del virus, sino también para crear y mantener una opinión pública favorable respecto de la gestión de la crisis. En este contexto, por medio de la llamada “Diplomacia del Guerrero Lobo” y la “Diplomacia de las Mascarillas”, el gobierno chino lanzó una ofensiva diplomática con la intención de presentar a China como un Estado responsable ante la comunidad internacional. Basado en el enfoque teórico de Foucault sobre los Regímenes de Verdad, este artículo analiza las narrativas y acciones diplomáticas que emprendieron las autoridades chinas para crear una verdad sobre el brote de coronavirus, discutiendo cómo se utilizaron los mecanismos y convenciones sociales para enfatizar y validar el conocimiento, vinculados en última instancia a los sistemas de poder. Finalmente, se concluye que, si el gobierno chino tiene la “verdad” sobre el nuevo coronavirus, aumenta la legitimidad y con ello su poder. Al mismo tiempo, un gobierno chino fuerte puede dedicar importantes recursos a difundir un discurso sobre la verdad del origen del virus y el manejo de la crisis sanitaria, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional. Sin embargo, se sugiere que el objetivo de la diplomacia china durante la pandemia fue fortalecer aún más el poder y legitimidad del PCCh, en lugar de buscar la hegemonía global.

Keywords:

China, Covid-19, Diplomacia, Narrativas, Regímenes de verdad

Author Biography

Daniel Lemus-Delgado, Tecnológico de Monterrey

Profesor investigador de la Escuela de Ciencias Sociales y Gobierno, Tecnológico de Monterrey (México) e investigador invitado de Fudan Development Institute, Universidad de Fudan (China). Licenciado en Historia por la Universidad de Guadalajara, Maestro en Estudios Humanísticos por el Tecnológico de Monterrey y Doctor en Relaciones Internacionales Transpacíficas por la Facultad de Economía de la Universidad de Colima, México. Miembro del Sistema Nacional de Investigadores del Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (México), nivel II.

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