---
title: "China Fears Its Coronavirus Coverup Could Destabilize the Country"
description: "Chinese intelligence warned the country's leadership that its response to the coronavirus pandemic created a massive wave of global anti-China sentiment."
date: "2020-05-04"
modified: "2020-05-04"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-fears-coronavirus-coverup-could-destabilize-country"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
  - "Health & Medicine"
  - "Medical"
  - "Pathogens"
  - "Viruses"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "coronavirus"
  - "covid19"
  - "politics"
  - "the digest"
---

# China Fears Its Coronavirus Coverup Could Destabilize the Country

![Chinese intelligence warned the country's leadership that its response to the coronavirus pandemic created a massive wave of global anti-China sentiment.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/china-fears-coronavirus-coverup-could-destabilize-country.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Global Backlash

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, officials and political leaders in China are reportedly bracing themselves for a wave of global backlash, led by the U.S., over how it handled the outbreak.

A Chinese intelligence-affiliated think tank called the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) presented a report to Chinese leadership that argues that anti-Chinese sentiment is the lowest it's been since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, *[Reuters reports](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-sentiment-ex/exclusive-internal-chinese-report-warns-beijing-faces-tiananmen-like-global-backlash-over-virus-idUSKBN22G19C?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews>)*.

It's not clear what action, if any, China will take, but the report reveals how concerned authorities are over backlash for its pandemic response.

## Hush Hush

Chinese leaders repeatedly tried to control the narrative and hide unflattering reports during the early days of the outbreak, going as far as [censoring front-line doctors](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/doctor-warned-viral-outbreak-dies>), [blocking scientific research](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/china-censoring-research-origin-coronavirus>), [scrubbing criticism](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/china-censored-pandemic-social-media>) from social media, and potentially [hiding the full extent](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/secret-us-intelligence-report-china-hid-size-pandemic>) of the country's outbreak.

As a result, China-U.S. relations are now historically strained, especially as U.S. President Trump [looks for scapegoats](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/trump-threatens-pull-funding-world-health-organization>) for his administration's own failings.

"Beijing's efforts to silence scientists, journalists, and citizens and spread disinformation exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis," a U.S. State Department spokesperson told *Reuters*.

## Widespread Uncertainty

Because *Reuters* didn't see the actual report and Chinese officials declined to answer the publication's questions, it's difficult to gauge how the country will change course.

But according to *Reuters*' sources, CICIR warned that international backlash could threaten China's emergent role as a global trade leader — a tangible repercussion.

**READ MORE:** [Exclusive: Internal Chinese report warns Beijing faces Tiananmen-like global backlash over virus](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-sentiment-ex/exclusive-internal-chinese-report-warns-beijing-faces-tiananmen-like-global-backlash-over-virus-idUSKBN22G19C?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews>) \[*Reuters*\]

**More on China's coronavirus response:** [China Is Censoring Research Into the Origin of the Coronavirus](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/china-censoring-research-origin-coronavirus>)

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)