TEORIJA IN PRAKSA Vol. 58, Special issue /2021 670 Blaž VREČKO ILC, Zlatko ŠABIČ* AMERICAN ANTI-CHINESE RACISM DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS AND ITS STRATEGIC FUNCTIONS Abstract. The Covid-19 crisis that hit the USA especial- ly hard was accompanied by intensified anti-Chinese racism fuelled by the anti-Chinese rhetoric used by the Trump Administration. Although Trump’s politi- cal opponents blamed him for having mismanaged the pandemic response, the anti-Chinese stance was a bipartisan issue. The article aims to analyse anti-Chi- nese racism in its systemic and historical dimensions. It examines the nature and strategic utility of anti- Chinese racism for past, the Trump, and future admin- istrations as well as for America’s elites generally. It is shown that anti-Chinese racism was substantially trans- formed during the pandemic and above all utilised to address the general destabilisation of the US-dominated socio-political and socio-economic order both at home and globally. China’s growing importance around the world and the potential domestic destabilisation of the US mean that the strategic utility of anti-Chinese racism may well remain important for some time to come. Keywords: Covid-19 crisis, Trump’s presidency, anti- Chinese racism, systemic racism, foreign policy Introduction The Covid-19 crisis that has hit the USA especially hard may be consid- ered paramount in the line of crises the world witnessed following Donald Trump’s election as the 45 th President of the United States of America. At the end of the Trump presidency, the total number of deaths caused by the virus was fast approaching the 400,000 mark. 1 Both at home and abroad, Trump will be remembered for his unusual individualistic approach to the presi- dency, for the incoherent domestic and foreign policy and, primarily, for studious ignorance of the spread of the Covid-19 disease. 2 Contrary to his 1 For data, see https://covidtracking.com/data/national. 2 In this article, the term “coronavirus” is also used. * Blaž Vrečko Ilc, PhD, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Zlatko Šabič, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. DOI: 10.51936/tip.58.specialissue.670-688