'both sides in the conflict' presumably refers to countries. However, countries are not persons and persons are not countries. For actual persons it is beneficial to have information from both sides. Countries do not necessarily act in the interest of their citizens. A bit more scepticism regarding politicians good intentions is in order. The actual intention of the president of the US is to get reelected which explains his actions regarding any subject much more than the interest of citizens. People saying that Trump is irrational or stupid are missing this point completely. Why is Trump downplaying corona? Because his constituency is more likely to be science-sceptical than the general public and also because his constituency has been fed the 'make America great again' slogan so he has to sound positive and in control. Why is Trump hard on China? Because his constituency is more likely to lose their job to China than people not in his constituency. Politics is a power game before anything else and people would be wise to realize this.