Despite the fact that in many countries the coronavirus pandemic is in full swing, people have already begun to look for a scapegoat. And many politicians in the West found him in the person of the People’s Republic of China.
US Anti-China Movement Already Heads US President Donald Trump large European countries, such as France and Germany, began to join him. And what should happen should not be surprising: at the end of 2023, the next presidential election should be held in the States, and Trump had high chances to win.
At the beginning of the year, the American economy was booming, and the Democratic Party was in ruins. But the coronavirus confused all the cards. And the head of state is now furious.
Every man for himself or All against all
Now the United States is leading the anti-rating on the number of infected and dead from COVID-2019. The actions of local authorities are to blame for this. When it became obvious that coronavirus infection was not a petty misfortune, many local politicians denied the existence of a problem, opposing the closure of borders and the imposition of restrictions on mass events. On the contrary, they encouraged people to take to the streets to celebrate together the Lunar New Year and prevent discrimination against Asians.
Similar behavior was observed in Europe, where open border policies had previously triggered a migration crisis. Lessons were not taken into account – Europeans stepped on the same rake, and awareness came too late.
What is happening now resembles chaos. Globalization and the concept of a unipolar world died in agony, replaced by the law of the jungle. Italy littered with corpses complains about the disregard of the European Union, it is echoed by Serbia. When Russia and China try to help Rome, France, Germany and Poland become more active, accusing Moscow of trying to earn political points and achieve the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions.
At the same time, Czechs and Poles misappropriate humanitarian aid to the Italians, while the French swear at the Americans, who directly at the Chinese airport are buying out lots with medical masks destined for Europe. Sur, and only.
The situation is complicated by the fact that thanks to the actions of the same Donald Trump, the international system for responding to threats was paralyzed. The UN is passively looking at what is happening, and the World Health Organization (WHO) is now being put forward as a vehicle for Beijing policy. Washington has already refused to fund WHO’s actions, threatening to create an alternative health organization.
The result was an expansion of the global economic crisis. While the population of entire countries is hiding in their homes, the business is forced to cut costs, lay off staff or shut down completely. Purchasing power is falling – people spend the last money on food. Closing borders leads to the breaking of production chains and the flow of cheap labor, and some areas of activity were not ready for the transition to remote methods of functioning.
Entertainment canceled
The entertainment industry got particularly strong, and even mastodons like the studio are experiencing financial problems. Disney, which was forced to borrow $ 11 billion to support its operations and send thousands of employees on unpaid leave. The market is also preparing to close a large network of cinemas AMC Theaters, and the comic industry, apparently, is waiting for decimation, as a result of which it will change forever, and many authors will be thrown out in the cold.
It is still unclear how events will develop in the future. Predictions are constantly being adjusted, and the situation in different countries is different. So, the blow to Russia was mitigated due to the fact that at the time of worsening situation in China, the Russian-Chinese border was closed. As a result, infected people came from European countries. But at the same time every day it becomes obvious that by May the situation will not improve.
According to optimistic forecasts, the global economy will begin to emerge from a state of paralysis in the summer. It should be understood that the creation of the vaccine will take 1.5-2 years, and doctors allow the second wave of the pandemic.
Also, do not forget that the population is running out of money, and many, after the shock, will be afraid for a long time to appear in crowded places. Analysts do not exclude that by the end of 2023, the global economy will lose about 3% of GDP.
All this creates tremendous stress for the entertainment industry. Even in China, which managed to cope with the coronavirus attack, cinemas are still closed, and authorities are afraid of the infection from Europe. Many film studios postponed the premieres of their films in the fall or the year 2023, so the industry will not come to life in the hot season.
Similarly, video game publishers have now begun to act. For example, Sony, which postponed an indefinite release of a potential hit The Last of Us: Part II.
Who will pay for the coronavirus banquet?
Given the enormous financial losses, it is not surprising that countries are trying to find ways to offset costs. And the United States decided to act extremely rudely, blaming all the sins of a competitor on the global stage in the person of the PRC. The White House focuses on the fact that the pandemic began in the Chinese city of Wuhan, and the Chinese authorities allegedly hid information about the real state of affairs by involving the WHO.
At the same time, the Trump team did not disdain to use conspiracy theories and propaganda methods: the politician calls the coronavirus exclusively “Chinese”, and the Republican Party mouthpiece in the person of the TV channel Fox news stated that the pandemic allegedly began as a result of the leakage of infection from the Chinese biological laboratory in Wuhan. Interestingly, in March, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that the US military allegedly brought the coronavirus to Wuhan.
In this bacchanalia, Russia also went separately. The United States Department of State suspected the “Russian trolls” in spreading fakes about coronavirus infection. Separately distinguished edition The new york timeswho personally accused the president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in the collapse of the American health care system and support for the anti-vaccination movement.
This is quite funny, given that the anti-vaccination movement originated in the West, and in Russia this obscurantism began to gain popularity in the 80s of the last century – against the background of weakening institutions of power in the USSR. Also, do not forget that it was New York that became the epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States, the city now resembles the scenery for the game The division from Ubisoft or for a Hollywood disaster movie.
In the current situation, Donald Trump of China is a convenient target for criticism. The American president wants to transfer to the competitor all his failures, as well as disarm him. Last week, the head of state has already announced that Washington is conducting an investigation, following which Beijing can be punished.
“If they consciously allowed this, then there should be consequences,” the politician threatened.
How will this be implemented? The most realistic version of the world community could already see last year. This is a trade war, in which the structure of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was paralyzed, and increased duties were introduced on Chinese goods. The Chinese authorities tried to answer, but because of distortions in the economy, the alignment was not in their favor.
In 2019, the trade confrontation almost hit the video game industry, as the American side intended to increase duties on equipment and components for gadgets manufactured in China. This would inevitably affect the final cost of smartphones, tablets, computers and consoles. As a result, the parties were able to agree, but in 2023 the situation may begin to develop in a negative scenario.
The Chinese authorities are now trying to bring to justice in court. So lawyer Larry Claymanhis lawyer group Freedom watch and texas company Buzz photos prepared a lawsuit against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), accusing it of creating a bio-weapon and demanding to pay about $ 20 trillion.
The wild tandem of firms is not far behind Berman law group and Lucas-compto (the first serves the interests of the Democratic Party, the second – the Republican), which also threaten a lawsuit for several tens of trillions of dollars.
South Carolina Republican Senator Already Supporting Initiative Lindsey grahamknown for its anti-Chinese and anti-Russian rhetoric. This time he didn’t let us down, proposing to annul the American securities owned by China.
“I want our reaction to this so harsh that China changes its behavior. I want to return the medical supply chain to the United States. And I want to start writing off part of our debt to China, because it is they who must pay us, not us them!” – said the politician.
Investments in Beijing’s US bonds at the beginning of the year exceeded $ 10 trillion. And this is not taking into account other investments in the US economy. If the threats are executed, this means the collapse of the PRC. It’s hard to believe in such a scenario, because radical steps will provoke a panic in global markets, which will hit the States themselves, and investors will no longer consider investments in American securities safe.
Eagle pecks the dragon
However, the statements of Graham, Trump and other politicians serve a completely different purpose: they give a clear signal to American and other foreign companies that it is worth starting to transfer high-tech production from China to other countries. For example, in the same USA, but other markets (India, Thailand, Vietnam, and so on) will do.
It will also inflict a powerful blow on the economy of the People’s Republic of China, forcing it to make significant concessions and raise the white flag. The American president had previously used this tactic, so it is unlikely that he will not resort to a proven tool of pressure now.
The process has long been launched, only companies go not to the USA, but to Vietnam, Thailand and India. So did Samsung, Google, Microsoft and other companies. Partially the assembly of their consoles in Vietnam has already moved Nintendo. And the Japanese government intends to allocate $ 2.2 billion to stimulate Japanese organizations to transfer their production capacities back to their homeland.
However, leaving China will not be a lifesaver for IT giants. The coronavirus factor has not been canceled. The same India fell into the abyss of chaos due to ill-conceived actions of local authorities. The task of quarantining 1.3 billion people without a clear action plan is doomed to failure in advance.
At the same time, the situation is aggravated by racism against whites, as well as the concentration of migrant workers who are left without work. And to predict the further development of events is now simply impossible, which will cause damage to the high-tech sector, in which thousands of Indian companies work on outsourcing.
What does the game have to do with it?
The geopolitical events described above pose new challenges for Microsoft and Sonywho are preparing to launch a new generation of consoles Xbox Series X and Playstation 5. As the head of Microsoft said at the end of March 2023 Satya Nadella, the epidemic in Asia is gradually weakening, and enterprises are resuming work.
The main threat is a possible drop in demand for products in the US and Europe, where the epidemiological situation is not improving. Whether the market will be able to recover by the end of the year after the situation with coronavirus is the main question.
“In terms of supplies, we are back on track,” Nadella explained to CNBC, commenting on the issue of restoring the production chain.
At the same time, the IT giant has not yet disclosed accurate data on the launch dates of the new system, as well as on the final retail price. Presumably, the situation will become clearer in May 2023.
At the same time, Sony generally went into silent mode. This is partly due to the fact that the Japanese platform holder is waiting for the first steps of a competitor to answer them and take a more advantageous position. But it would be foolish to think that her top managers are not worried about the market situation. As reported Bloomberg, Sony still intends to release the PlayStation 5 at the end of 2023, but in a limited edition (shipment of five to six million systems by March 2023). At the same time, its price allegedly may exceed $ 500.
Lack of money from the population for expensive gadgets is the main risk for Microsoft and Sony. In the head you need to keep the transfers of large releases for Playstation 4 and Xbox one. And in this situation it is possible that the launch of the systems will be limited or even postponed for a more successful period. For example, in the spring of 2023.
Not everything is alright and Nintendo. The company does not intend to release new systems yet, as Switch Now things are going so well that a global shortage of hybrid systems has formed on the market. Coronavirus also complicated the interaction with suppliers of components, so the Japanese platform holder cannot yet satisfy all the demand.
The consequences of the COVID-2019 coronavirus infection pandemic will disrupt the world’s population over the next few years. And not everyone can survive this crisis. But the collapse of the process of political and economic globalization that has emerged in recent years threatens with further unpredictable changes that everyone will feel.
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