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Opinion
China’s coronavirus success shows up poor pandemic preparedness in the rest of the world
- The rest of the world had up to two months’ notice of the coronavirus but few governments took even basic steps to prepare for it. China, in contrast, took swift, bold steps, and may be rewarded economically when the looming depression is over
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During the depths of the Great Recession, China was a bastion of fiscal conservatism. Its currency did not free fall (as so many of the world’s major currencies did), its companies did not collapse en masse (as so many Western firms did), and it ended up in relatively good shape.
Although it is too early to say if China will emerge similarly from the global economic depression unfolding because of Covid-19, what is certain is that once Beijing decided to get serious about containing the virus, it did so with gusto and significant positive results.
Beijing should be criticised for its initial slow response, lack of transparency, and punishment of whistle-blowers and truth tellers. Had it responded differently, the world would have had even more time to anticipate the arrival of the virus and act more expeditiously to thwart its spread.
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