Well....
1.) If it could provably be traced back to us, the Chinese (and a few others) would have justification to unleash holy hell on us, up to (and including) the ol’ canned sunshine we’ve been trying to keep Iran from getting....
2.) Given how much of our commerce comes from China, and Asia in general (for better or worse...I say worse), we’d be committing economic suicide to do that. The economic impact of this bug won’t be a short-sharp-shock to be quickly recovered from with domestic production...you can’t just instantly recreate an industrial base that was frittered away over decades. And all the dollars dumped into the market by the Fed won’t restock empty shelves and nonexistent parts needed for domestic assembly.
Personally I think the Chinese got hold of the virus from overseas—that lab in Canada maybe?—and careless handling by their own lab employees let it get out before they understood what they were dealing with, let alone worked up an antidote.
Personally I think the Chinese got hold of the virus from overseas—that lab in Canada maybe?—and careless handling by their own lab employees let it get out before they understood what they were dealing with, let alone worked up an antidote.
Ditto
“Personally I think the Chinese got hold of the virus from overseas—that lab in Canada maybe?—and careless handling by their own lab employees let it get out before they understood what they were dealing with, let alone worked up an antidote.”
I think that’s most likely. They complete the lab in Wuhan. Their spies saw a chance to snatch some in Canada, so they brought it home. BUT, the training and the protocols are not fully developed and/or understood. So the sample breaks loose.
The theft from Canada last summer would line up perfectly with the outbreak - quietly making the rounds for a few months until breaking loose in Wuhan in November.
As to malicious intentions - who knows? If nothing else, the Chinese do have an interest in better understanding these viruses, considering how they’ve been hammered by SARS, Bird Flu, Swine Flu, etc. I don’t blame them for wanting to get that stuff under control...but they just weren’t careful enough.
“2.) Given how much of our commerce comes from China, and Asia in general (for better or worse...I say worse), we’d be committing economic suicide to do that. “
Cheaper to have a short term economic loss than a future WWIII with China that everyone knows is coming.
Personally I think the Chinese got hold of the virus from overseas
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chinaman dumb, need yellow hair to show ‘im whats what.
U.S. GDP is $21.7 Trillion. Imports and Exports combined (foreign trade) are $2.1 Trillion, or 9.7% of GDP.
Any country whose foreign trade is less than 15% of GDP is essentially a closed economy. In addition to being a closed economy, the U.S. is 27% of world GDP.
China’s GDP is $14.1 Trillion, and $4.62 Trillion (33% of GDP) is foreign trade. They are the world’s largest trading partner. China’s GDP is second only to the U.S., and represents 18% of the world’s GDP.
No matter how severe the impacts to foreign trade caused by the coronavirus, it will be an inconvenience to the U.S, and devastating to the Chinese.
For all of the items currently single sourced from China, an alternative source can be developed or found somewhere else, albeit at a higher cost. Those who go to the trouble of developing alternative sources will develop more than one so that competition will eventually reduce the cost.
Once that development/sourcing leaves China, it is highly unlikely it will go back.