“Certainly, the world is paying a big price for what they did,” he said. But as Mr. Trump and top American officials toughen their condemnations of Mr. Xi’s government, national security and public health experts fear that the two world powers are heading into a new Cold War that could seriously undermine joint efforts to quash the virus and salvage the global economy. Even some health officials in the Trump administration have warned that denouncing China’s government could make it more resistant to sharing accurate data about the virus. China has shared the genome sequence of the virus, and Chinese scientists have written many public papers on the virus, even if officials initially covered it up. China also has the power to interfere with medical supply chains into the United States, and its economic policies are crucial to the wider global economy.

Source: International New York Times March 22, 2020 18:11 UTC