China as a Responsible Power Amid the COVID-19 Crisis: Perceptions of Partners and Adversaries on Twitter

Abstract

The challenging COVID-19 context has questioned China’s role as a responsible power but also tested its relationship with other states. This study seeks to investigate ‘How other actors have perceived China’s role as a responsible power amid the COVID-19 crisis’. To do so, we opt for a qualitative approach examining the official Twitter accounts of seven actors that hold different types of relationships with China, namely Brazil, EU, Japan, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and the USA. We aim to identify the perceptions of these actors towards China as unfolding from January to June 2020, emphasising the empirical applicability of Twitter’s discourse. By adopting the concept of responsible power approached from a Role Theory perspective, this paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of interstate relations and role perceptions. Our findings indicate that there have been variations in the responses and perceptions other states have expressed towards China while its framing as a responsible power differs significantly during the crisis and its landmark events.