State-led COVID-19 governance and the negotiation of trust in local Chinese communities in the Greater Bay Area of China

Abstract

In November 2019, a new coronavirus called COVID-19 first emerged in Wuhan and spread rapidly to the rest of China, leading to the first lockdown of the city of Wuhan. COVID-19 pandemic was seen as a public health risk and created mayhem, stress and uncertainty, leading to public distrust of the government and the public health sector in handling this pandemic. To combat the public health risks brought about by this pandemic, mainland Chinese governments developed a COVID-19 governance framework with directives from the central government authority and its team of medical experts with the actual implementation managed by the provincial, municipal and local governments. At the same time, the Chinese government also embarked on a massive public relation campaign to convince its citizens and the global world of its efforts in containing the COVID-19 pandemic and to rebuild trust on the government. This paper explores how the local communities in Shenzhen and Guangzhou of the Greater Bay Area of China negotiated and constructed compliance toward the state-directed strategies and actions and the attitudinal change of the public from initial trust deficit to one of trust surplus toward the Chinese authorities and leadership in the management and containment of COVID-19 pandemic.