CHINA'S FOREIGN DISCOURSE DURING THE PANDEMIC

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, through its Spokespersons, began the year talking about issues that at the beginning of 2020 were seen as a source of significant international friction in a region characterized by volatility and war: The Middle East. If we look at the statements of the Chinese Spokesman Geng Shuang, at the beginning of the year, we see important keywords such as: “Middle East”, “tensions”, “peace”, “stability”, “Iranian”. After the 20th of January, when the Chinese government recognizes the virus's human transmissibility, we see radical changes. All the importance given to tensions in the Middle East and other international discussions became irrelevant in the face of a new great crisis: SARS-COVID-2. A “novel” and severe epidemic has entered the international stage, and the Chinese leadership has had to adapt its speech to the new situation, and that is why we see the introduction of new words in their speech as: “epidemic”, “health”, “pandemic”, “virus”, “epidemics”, “Wuhan”, etcetera. Suddenly the Chinese Foreign Minister and his representatives became a source of information about the pandemic and its evolution in China. Although they did not directly use this opportunity to change information, it was more than enough to use press agencies and other indirect tools. Nevertheless, they tried to establish the rules of the game by introducing some arguments and some opinions.