As Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Europe and the United States, more Chinese residing there have decided to go back home instead as they consider China to be much safer than the west now.

Ironic twist

China first placed 17 cities in Hubei province under lockdown starting from late January, in an attempt to curb the viral outbreak from spreading further.

With the lockdown starting to ease in Hubei, and more governments around the world placing their own countries under lockdown, the Covid-19 outbreak appears to have come full circle.

Businesses coming back to life in China

While the U.S. and Europe are shutting down shops and schools for the time being, China is doing the exact opposite, with businesses coming back to life after a lull.

Certain Hubei cities have even started lifting traffic restrictions, roadblocks, and temperature checks to facilitate resumption of economic activities, according to Caixin.

Apple has reopened all its stores in mainland China, but said it would close all its other stores elsewhere for two weeks.

And while China announced zero new local infections for the second day in a row on Thursday, March 19, 34 new imported infections were reported nationwide, indicating a shift in the epicentre of the pandemic.

Chinese fighting to get back to China

With the tables turning in China's favour, some Chinese living abroad are even returning to China to get tested and to receive medical care.

Los Angeles Times reported that a Chinese living in Massachusetts was rejected for testing three times before she decided to return to China.

She was tested positive for Covid-19 subsequently.

With the rise in demand for flights back to China, prices of air tickets from the U.S. and Europe to China have surged in the past week as well, according to Bloomberg.

A Chinese student at Cambridge University had reportedly paid about 40,000 RMB (S$8,185) to fly home to Suzhou from the United Kingdom.

Another Chinese student had also flown back to China from the U.K., telling the Wall Street Journal that the U.K. government "didn't control (the outbreak) well", adding that China was more transparent and proactive about curbing the spread of the virus.

Financial Times also reported that wealthy mainland Chinese are chartering private jets back home, saying that foreign operators were frightened to enter the country.

Not all chose to return home

Nevertheless, some Chinese have chosen to stay abroad, citing expensive flights home and the risk of getting infected while travelling, South China Morning Post reported.

A student also said he did not want to "create problems for China", referring to the rise in imported cases for China.

Foreign travellers to quarantine themselves after entering China

With its imported cases far exceeding its local cases, China has become more wary of foreign travellers now.

China's capital, Beijing, implemented a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all international travellers starting from March 16, which they were to complete at a designated facility.

Those quarantined would also have to foot the bill themselves.

Similar measures have been put in place by other regions, such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Anhui province, Sanya city in Hainan province, as well as several cities in Shandong province which is located close to South Korea.

Even Wuhan, the Hubei city once the epicentre of the outbreak, now requires international arrivals to be placed under quarantine.

In addition, foreigners are now increasingly looked at with suspicion, with Time reporting that Chinese are becoming wary of Italians living in the country.

Italy has just become the deadliest centre of the outbreak, with its death toll surpassing China's.

Ramping up the rhetoric that China is a safe heaven now

Now that China has found itself in a position where foreign governments are scrambling to contain the outbreak while the spread of the virus is dying within its own borders, the Chinese government has begun to recast the country as a safe haven from the virus.

For instance, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the country's "endeavour to combat the epidemic has bought time for international preparedness", adding that its contributions is "there for all to see".

Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Wuhan on March 10 also sent the message that Beijing has the situation under control.

The paramount leader lauded the success of the Hubei province's containment measures, saying the tide had turned, and that the virus was "basically curbed".

The official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), People's Daily, rejoiced at the reversal of fortunes too, albeit seemingly at the expense of other countries.

In a March 17 article, the headline read: "87,182 cases outside of China, the tides have finally turned!"

The article, however, received its fair share of criticism from Chinese social media users, with commenters saying it is immoral and goes against the human race.

China providing masks & medical supplies to Europe

Also, turning a crisis into an opportunity, China is now providing medical supplies to others.

It has sent masks and testing kits to other European countries, following the European Union's help to China back in January.

People's Daily has promoted China as the provider of aid to heavily hit countries like Italy.

A team of 13 Chinese medical staff arrived in #Milan, #Italy to help contain the #Covid_19 #pandemic. They will share their experience with local experts and provide guidance and consultation for #coronavirus control and treatment. #CoronaOutbreak pic.twitter.com/0dyW9Sn81M

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) March 19, 2020

China bought time for the west?

The narrative that China bought time for the rest of the world is being repeated in the west too.

An economist at Harvard University said China "really did great work in buying the rest of us time".

Beijing-based writer Ian Johnson wrote on a New York Times op-ed that China bought the west time, but the latter wasted it for they think that the Chinese measures were borne from an authoritarian political system and not to be emulated elsewhere.

Not everyone agreed, however.

Critics say if China bought the west time, it would be the Chinese people themselves, and not the government.

If anyone in China bought time for the west, it’d be
- scientists who sequenced DNA
- doctors, nurses & volunteers who risked their lives
- ppl who were quarantined, stranded, sometimes even died cuz of it
- whistleblowers, journos, ppl who spread info under censorship...

— Tony Lin 林東尼 (@tony_zy) March 13, 2020

Hitting back at criticisms from the U.S. that China had covered up news of the outbreak, and delayed the release of information to other countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying tweeted that the Chinese government had first updated the U.S. on the virus on Jan. 3.

China has been updating the US on the coronavirus and its response since Jan. 3. On Jan. 15 the US State Department notified Americans in China US CDC's warning about the coronavirus. And now blame China for delay? Seriously?

— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) March 19, 2020

But when Axios China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian posted a reply saying that a study showed that if Chinese authorities had acted three weeks earlier than they did, the number of cases could have been reduced by 95 percent, she was blocked by Hua on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/BethanyAllenEbr/status/1240652486349860864

China and the U.S. in very different places now

Tensions between the two major powers have ratcheted lately with China expelling American journalists from the country, and putting forth the theory that the virus had originated in the U.S.

A war of words ensued when U.S. President Donald Trump retaliated, calling Covid-19 the "Chinese virus".

The two countries could not be any more different now in terms of where they stand with regards to the pandemic.

While China is now in a position to help others, with Xi recently pushing for a "health silk road", Trump is under pressure domestically for his perceived mishandling of the crisis.

Top image adapted via Getty Images