The Chinese Communist Party and the COVID-19 pandemic: face loss, status anxiety, resentment

The COVID-19 pandemic gave new impetus to the influence of face and status on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the political leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Occurring when relations between the PRC and the liberal-democratic world were already tense, the pandemic introduced a new vector into a highly politicised context involving domestic and global audiences. It caused the CCP acute embarrassment, undermined its status ambition, and intensified an extant resentment towards perceived competitors and critical voices. Anxieties about loss of face and status manifested in the histrionics and policies of CCP/PRC officials and state media towards the United States and Australia.