For President Trump, the answer has been deflection. Facing a torrent of criticism for playing down the epidemic in its crucial early stages, he has been trying to push blame back to China, worsening existing tensions between the two superpowers. Despite warnings that he is encouraging xenophobia, Mr. Trump has repeatedly used the term “China virus” in what critics see as an effort to distance himself from the problem.

Beijing has retaliated by falsely suggesting that the virus started with American troops, while portraying itself as a heroic warrior against the contagion and a model for the world.

Especially in China and the Chinese diaspora, there is a growing demand for recognition of the hard work and sacrifices that tamed the outbreak, and a desire to tell the world what has gone right and wrong, and why.

“People in Western countries said China’s response was too authoritarian, didn’t respect people’s democracy and freedom enough,” said Yin Choi Lam, a Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant owner in Melbourne, Australia. “Now compare it to places like Italy, where the death rate is so high, or America, where no one knows how many people are sick. Would you rather have freedom or keep your life?”

Similar arguments are flooding Chinese social media. One popular comic shows China sick as the world watches behind a glass barrier, followed by a panel with an angry, healthy China behind the glass as other countries play and tussle without masks like unruly children.

Some of the heaviest scorn, however, has been saved for those who return to China and question the country’s harsh approach. A video that went viral this week showed a Chinese-Australian woman being confronted by the police in Beijing after she evaded quarantine in order to exercise.

Users of the microblogging platform Weibo called for her to be sent back to Australia.