Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

With the novel coronavirus spreading around the globe, a political virus with deeper influence has also begun to show up. In recent years, white nationalism and white supremacy have been on the rise, a perfect reflection of a political virus that is spreading in the US. If Washington cannot appropriately deal with this virus, it will not be able to make the US great again but rather see an irreversible decline and fall of the US empire.

As of Tuesday, the US has reported at least 163,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 3,000 deaths from the virus. These fast rising numbers have failed to sober some US politicians, especially those who are anti-China, who regard the virus as an opportunity to expand their political interests. 

The US is in a political mess with different forces striving to gain an upper hand in a game of political competition. The far-right forces represented by former Trump White House strategist Stephen K. Bannon have been on the frontline and haven't missed an opportunity to attract attention with extreme rhetoric. 

Bannon has said that the Chinese government is "an existential threat to the Chinese people and to the world, not just the US." This is a typical statement aimed at gaining political support by pitting China and the world against each other. People like Bannon are actually spokespersons for white nationalism and white supremacy, and they label China an enemy to realize their political goals. These people have fanned the flames of extreme nationalism, which will cause the US to suffer first. 

US history tells us the country needs an enemy to push its development. This is somewhat pathetic. But white nationalists believe in an extreme way that their ideology must be spread and accepted by others, and any country that adopts a different ideology is labeled an enemy. They also attempt to unite Americans by making up an enemy. This enemy was once the Soviet Union, and now it is China. However, today's China is nothing like the Soviet Union. 

When the term "American Century" was coined in the 1940s, the US was urged to become the world's Good Samaritan and thus a leader across the globe. Hence, in the eyes of some US politicians obsessed with the extreme mind-set of ideological competition, China has been targeted as a thorn in the side of the US. 

Such being the case, Bannon and his followers have spared no efforts to smear China. They will continue spreading their political virus in the hope of reaching their ultimate goal of overthrowing China. These people on the far fringe of US political debate view this as the easiest way to make the US great again. 

However, they know it's not possible for them to overturn the Chinese government, but they can't let go their paranoia. Therefore, they won't even hesitate to fulfill their self-gratification even if it drags the US into a hostility confrontation or even a war against China. In the era of globalization, the US will definitely harm itself and its people if it launches a cold war with China. 

Nonetheless, if this racism-related political virus continues spreading and more people are deceived by extreme speech, the US will see its existing lesions develop into a malignant tumor. If that occurs, it won't only be the vast innocent Americans who will suffer, but also the politicians who care only about their political interests.