新冠肺炎疫情仍在延续之中，它对中美关系的多重冲击也越发显著。一些美国战略界人士断言，中国试图利用这场疫情展开“虚假信息行动”，并进而提升自身的全球影响力。他们认为，随着中国在疫情中率先恢复经济，中国将借此大力塑造“后疫情世界”。中国方面则对美国借疫情因素推动“脱钩”、对世卫组织施压等举措越发警惕，认为这些旨在削弱中国的实力和影响力，并从根本上阻断中国崛起的进程。中国分析人士感到，特朗普政府当前逢华必反的做法令双方无法为应对这场史无前例的危机展开有效协调。

中美之间的相互认知似乎正在变得越发负面，这场疫情风暴对两国关系造成的不利影响着实不容低估。

首先，双方之间的经济和技术“脱钩”或会更趋深化。总统国家安全事务助理罗伯特·奥布莱恩、白宫高级顾问彼得·纳瓦罗等特朗普政府高官公开表示，美国在口罩、防护服等医疗物资以及药品供应方面过度依赖中国，疫情使这些风险充分曝露，这对美国国家安全构成严重威胁。实际上，过去几年来，特朗普政府一直在推动在华美国企业从中国撤出，疫情让那些美国对华鹰派人士获得鼓吹“脱钩”的更多借口。根据中国美国商会和上海美国商会近期调查，越来越多的美国企业相信两国“脱钩”具有可能性。

在技术竞争方面，过去几个月来特朗普政府并没有放松对中国的压力。美国商务部正酝酿加大对华为公司等中国企业的技术出口限制，白宫方面也加大了与商务部、国防部等部门的协调力度。为应对疫情挑战，很多国家开始更多使用人工智能等先进技术。这进一步彰显了高科技对于维护国家福祉和安全的重要作用。后疫情时期，全球经济的数字化转型或会加速展开，各国之间的竞争将会更加依赖先进技术尤其是新兴技术。在这一背景下，中美之间围绕技术的博弈将更趋复杂。

第二，在地缘政治方面，中美之间的紧张关系也在上升。疫情发生以来，台湾当局对大陆并未采取善意与合作性的态度，“台独”势力试图利用疫情因素推进其政治议程，两岸关系受到破坏。与此同时，美台关系却得到实质性增强，特朗普签署的《台北法案》提出支持台湾与美国、日本等发展“独特关系”，这严重损害中美政治互信。世卫组织仅限主权国家加入，但一些美国议员和前官员却提出让台湾人士担任该组织总干事的荒唐建议，这对中国大陆而言具有很强的挑衅意味。美国前代理助理国务卿董云裳（Susan Thornton）警告说，近年来，美中围绕台湾问题的沟通已经显著弱化，在疫情冲击和经济衰退之外，不应再爆发台海危机。

疫情之下，美国对中国在全球的一举一动似乎变得愈加敏感，总是通过战略竞争的棱镜加以审视。中方为欧洲国家提供的援助被美方视为一种地缘政治挑战，华盛顿担心中国通过所谓“口罩外交”扩展在欧洲的影响力。美国传统基金会副主席詹姆斯·卡拉法诺在讨论疫情的地缘政治影响时指出，美国要加大在欧洲、非洲等地区对中国的制衡，并通过“四国机制+”的方式进一步在印太地区强化对华压制。

第三，疫情正加剧美中两国围绕国家治理体制和国际治理的博弈。此次疫情带来的危机，其实质是“信任危机”和“治理危机”。澳大利亚前总理陆克文认为，面对疫情，全球存在显而易见的信任危机，即对一国政府以及全球领导者丧失信心。的确，疫情对各国的政治体制、资源调配能力、危机时刻的社会动员能力、运用新技术的能力等提出一系列严峻考验。包括世卫组织总干事谭德塞在内的不少人士认为，中国政府实施了强有力的疫情管控措施，这体现了中国体制的一定优势。然而，这样的评价令美国方面感到十分不满。特朗普政府本需要对防控措施不及时、社会保障网不完善等问题带来的后果进行反思，但却把更大的精力用于指责中国，国务卿蓬佩奥在近期发表的演讲中将矛头直接对准中国共产党。

在国际治理层面，疫情使联合国、世卫组织等机构的能力、权威和资源不足问题集中曝露。特朗普政府指责世卫组织“以中国为中心”，并决定在全球抗击疫情的关键时刻中断对该组织的资金支持。正如战略与国际研究中心高级副总裁马修·古德曼所言，G20疫情特别峰会基本没有取得实质性成果，各方展开国际协调的意愿较低，这在很大程度上源于中美之间的紧张关系。实际上，将全球治理视为中美战略竞争的关键领域，并尽力削弱中国在国际组织中的影响力，是特朗普政府对华政策的重要一环。新美国安全中心等美国智库专家称，北京寻求打造“有中国特色的联合国”，试图用中国理念和方案重塑全球治理。美国国会下属的美中经济与安全审查委员会提出一系列应对建议，包括限制中国公民在重要国际组织担任高级职务等。

无疑，此次疫情对中美关系的影响将是深远的，在两国继续抗击疫情挑战的同时，华盛顿和北京需要加大重新校正和稳定双边关系的努力，尤其是避免在台湾问题等方面陷入更大冲突。实际上，疫情凸显了各国相互依存、人类命运与共的现实，世界期待中美作为最大的两个经济体能够展开协调与合作。华盛顿和北京需要意识到，管理中美战略竞争的任务将在后疫情时期变得愈加艰难，因而在话语和行动上应更加谨慎。

As COVID-19 sweeps across the world, its multifaceted impact on China-U.S. relations is increasingly prominent. A view held in some strategic circles in the United States is that China is using the pandemic in a disinformation campaign designed to elevate its own global influence. As China leads the world recovery, this thinking goes, it will exploit the opportunity to shape the post Covid-19 world.China is on high alert against calls for “decoupling” from the U.S., and is concerned about the mounting pressure on the World Health Organization spearheaded by the U.S., whose ultimate aim is to undermine China's strength and influence and derail its rise. Chinese observers believe the “anything but China” approach by the Trump administration has rendered all but impossible any effective coordination between the two countries.

As things stand now, it seems each country's perception of the other is on a downward spiral, and the consequences of the Covid-19 storm in China-U.S. relations should not be underestimated.

Economic and technological decoupling between China and the U.S. is likely to deepen. U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, White House Senior Adviser Peter Navarro and other high-ranking officials, publicly warned against over-reliance on China for medical supplies such as masks, protective gear and medicines — risks that were laid bare by the ongoing pandemic as a severe threat to U.S. national security.U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing American companies to withdraw from China, and the pandemic has been exploited by the China hawks to give credence to their decoupling theory. A recent survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai found that more U.S. companies are seeing decoupling coming.

On technological competition, the past few months have seen no letup in pressure on China by the Trump administration. The U.S. Department of Commerce is contemplating enhanced export restrictions on Huawei and other tech companies from China. The White House has also stepped up coordination between agencies, including the Department of Commerce, Department of Defense and others. Many countries have begun to take up AI and other cutting-edge technologies to cope with the pandemic, underscoring the importance of technology in safeguarding national well-being and security.In the post-COVID19 era, economic digitalization may accelerate. National competition will rely more on advanced technologies, in particular emerging technologies. Against this backdrop, China-U.S. relations will become more complicated, revolving around technological competition.

Second, on the geopolitics front, tensions between China and the U.S. are on the rise. Despite the pandemic, authorities in Taiwan have shown neither goodwill nor intention to cooperate with the mainland. On the contrary, the forces advocating independence are using the pandemic to advance thier political agenda at the peril of cross-strait relations.Meanwhile, relations between the U.S. and Taiwan have strengthened substantively. The TAIPEI Act, signed into law by President Trump, proposes a “unique relationship” between Taiwan and other countries, particularly the U.S. and Japan.Membership in the WHO requires statehood, but in a preposterous suggestion, some U.S. congressmen and former officials are clamoring for selecting someone from Taiwan as director-general — a suggestion regarded as highly provocative of the Chinese mainland.Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Susan Thornton warned that in recent years communication between China and the U.S. on Taiwan issues has significantly weakened. On top of the impact of the pandemic and the attendant economic recession, there must not be a cross-strait crisis.

In the pandemic environment, the U.S. is more sensitive to China's every move, particularly as it views China through a lens of strategic competition. Washington is wary that China is attempting to expand its influence in Europe through so-called mask diplomacy, and sees Chinese supplies to European countries as a geopolitical challenge. Discussing the geopolitical implications, James Jay Carafano, vice president of the Heritage Foundation, said the U.S. should step up activities to counter China in Europe and Africa, and more vigorously contain China through the Quad Plus in the Indo-Pacific region.

Third, the pandemic aggravates competition over national governance systems and global governance. The crisis, in essence, boils down to a trust crisis and governance crisis. Former Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd believes there is a visible trust crisis globally, meaning the lack of confidence in a given government or global leadership as a whole.Admittedly, the pandemic is a severe test of political systems, the ability to mobilize resources and society and the ability to utilize new technology. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom, among other experts, believes that the Chinese government pulled off a forceful containment and prevention effort that showcased the strength of the Chinese system.That acknowledgement has rubbed the U.S. the wrong way. While the Trump administration should have reflected on its lagging response and the inadequacy of its containment measures and social safety net, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made unveiled accusations against the Communist Party of China in successive speeches.

At the global governance level, the outbreak exposes how the UN and the WHO fall short of both resources and authority. President Trump accused the WHO of being “China centric” and withheld funding just as the global fight against the pandemic has reached a crucial juncture. Matthew Goodman, senior vice president of CSIS, said that the lack of substantial progress at the G20 Summit was the result of low willingness for international coordination, which to a large extent stemmed from tensions between China and the U.S.A report released by the Center for a New American Security said that Beijing was remaking the UN in its own image, and was attempting to reshape global governance with Chinese ideas and proposals. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission of the U.S. Congress laid out a host of proposals, including banning Chinese people from senior positions in key international organizations.

Without doubt, this pandemic will have an enduring impact on the course of China-U.S. relations. While the two countries continue to fight the coronavirus, both need to step up their efforts to recalibrate and anchor bilateral ties. In particular, every effort should be made to avoid further confrontation on issues related to Taiwan. More important, the outbreak underlines that all countries are bound by a shared future, given their level of interdependence.The world looks forward to coordination and cooperation between China and the U.S., the two largest economies. Both countries should recognize the reality that managing relations in a post-pandemic world is going to be a challenge, and they should speak and act with discretion and caution.