Sumantra Maitra writes at the Federalist about the COVID-19 pandemic’s potential impact on China’s relations with nations around the globe.

As calls for reparation grew in Germany, echoing those from elsewhere in Europe, the Chinese Embassy wrote a strong open letter “reminding” Germans of their “historic friendship.”

That resulted in an editorial in Bild, the largest newspaper in Germany, accusing the Chinese of imperialism. …

… There’s a political stir in the United Kingdom, as the British government paid China $20 million for faulty test kits. Now the former head of the MI6 has declared that China hid the details of the Wuhan virus and therefore is solely responsible, which is seen as Great Britain hardening its stance against Chinese influence. …

… Japan is leading a global effort to fund the reestablishment of diverse supply chains and end the Chinese monopoly and death grip over the civilized world. The Chinese government now fears that this Japanese-led economic package could lead to an exodus of Chinese manufacturing and redistribute it among different Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries so no one country has any monopoly over goods.

India has restructured foreign direct investment rules to stop Chinese firms from investing or buying Indian land or businesses. Even Australia is debating curtailing Chinese students in Australian universities, the major source of higher-ed funding. …

… Europeans are now realizing, just as some Americans, that the old wisdom of great power rivalry is back. The actors might change, but the game remains the same. It is hitting the European political establishment harder than expected, as their entire postmodern worldview is predicated on free trade and the weakening of martial prowess and national borders. International institutions are not saving them from creeping Chinese hegemony — in fact, these institutions are facilitating it.

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