Regional powers have responded to the crisis in ways that have enhanced their influence and interests The deepening of the covid crisis has generated an intense discussion about its effect on the emerging global order.
On the one hand, the pandemic seems to have underscored constraints in the willingness and ability of the US to provide global public goods.
On the other, though many believe that China’s initial cover-up and opacity escalated the covid outbreak to the level of a global pandemic, there are suggestions that Beijing’s attempt to present itself as a global leader in epidemic-response could establish its pre-eminence in world politics.