Even if the United States is no longer capable of leading the world, other countries might not see China replacing the U.S. in its dominant role, esteemed historian Wang Gungwu shared with ThinkChina in an email interview.

Wang, 89, was answering the e-magazine's question on the shift in global perceptions towards China in the post-Covid-19 world.

China has to offer an attractive alternative for the world

Wang said in the interview that whether or not China becomes a beneficiary of the West's relative decline -- if it happens -- depends on the credibility of the perspective that China has to offer.

Should China succeed in providing an alternative system to economic prosperity, the U.S., and also elsewhere in the West, would then see the country as a "fundamental threat" to their dominance in the world.

Feeling threatened, they would "do everything they can to stop China", Wang said.

China acted slow at first but later succeeded in containing the epidemic

Commenting on China's management of the epidemic, the sinologist also said most people agree that China succeeded in containing the spread of the virus outbreak within its own borders.

However, he said the world also now knows of the Chinese system's weakness when it comes to reporting swiftly on the severity of the epidemic.

The warnings came "late", and "valuable time was lost", he added.

The U.S. is blaming China for the virus outbreak

However, the West did not fare that great either in his eyes.

He commented that people in East Asia were "surprised" by how poorly some "advanced" Western European countries had handled the pandemic, adding that the "confusing developments in the U.S. were truly astonishing".

He also said it is unclear how much further the U.S. will politicise the global health crisis and blame China for it entirely, and how much more anti-Chinese sentiments would arise as a result.

Nationalism does China little good

Such anti-Chinese sentiments might stir up popular anger in China, which has, in the past, forced the Chinese government to "overreact", Wang said.

However, while pushing back against such sentiments strongly might please some people, overreactions "do little for China's efforts to make new friends", he added.

Opining on the rise of nationalism among the Chinese in the face of increasing hostility from the West, he said that "the more nationalistic the Chinese people become, the less attractive their country will become".

Outbursts of ultra nationalism from the Chinese have increasingly taken place outside of China, which have in turn sparked a pushback from others.

Singaporean Chinese should not overreact to anti-Chinese displays

In response to the interviewer's question on the impact of anti-China and anti-Chinese sentiments on the Singaporean Chinese, Wang said they would be "rightly troubled" by such displays.

But while they could show their disapproval of such unwarranted behaviour, they will have to be careful of overreacting, out of the leaders' consideration for the country's "immediate neighbours" in Southeast Asia.

Most Chinese approve of the government's policies

Wang also gave his views on Western influence on China's political ideals, if any, and how perceptions in China towards it could change with the impact of the pandemic.

He said "the turmoil of much of the 20th century" has made China realise that the Western ideal of liberal democracy might not be that important for the country's national development.

China places "order and stability above freedom and political participation" in its policies, and the Chinese people, in line with the same values, seem to approve of such an approach, he said.

Regardless of criticisms that the Chinese political system is "unliberated and backward", the Chinese people believe that it is vital for the country at this stage, Wang explained.

Most Chinese accept CCP's leadership on account of its performance legitimacy

He also said that given the nature of China's politics throughout its history, such as when it was under "emperors, warlords, nationalists or communists", no individual or group of intellectuals could provide a new vision that could sufficiently appeal to the majority of the Chinese people.

At the present moment, most of the Chinese people have accepted the Chinese Communist Party's legitimacy on the basis of their ability to bring "order and renewed purpose", he said.

He added that while there were many in China who stood up for their principles which were seen to be opposing the Party, "what happened" to them -- referring to their persecution by the state -- has "discouraged others from doing so".

This has helped the Party to retain their control over the population.

Singapore's response to outbreak proving to be effective

On Singapore, Wang said the government has acted quickly and employed a range of resources and "corrective measures" to deal with the pandemic problems that have cropped up.

These actions are "proving to be effective", he said.

Singapore's future not a happy one should it depend on either major power

In addition, Wang commented on the perpetual issue that Singapore faces as a small state increasingly caught between two opposing major powers, saying the country's future "would not be a happy one" should it depend on one or the other.

He said the worst that could happen would be the lack of a choice that pushes Singapore to "gamble on one side winning in either a cold or a hot war".

Such a scenario would then relegate Singapore to be a client state of the powerful country, robbing it of its independence.

To prevent this from happening, Singapore, together with its neighbours, should then strive to build "a strong cooperative framework that stands united".

A resilient grouping like Asean would then incentivise China and the U.S. to protect their respective interests in the region as it is profitable, he elaborated.

You can read Wang's full interview with ThinkChina here.

Top image via The University of Hong Kong