It appears to be inevitable that global industrial and supply chains will be realigned as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. But the reshuffling had already begun.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sent the world into perilous, uncharted territory from which no country will emerge unscathed. Over half of the global population is under some form of lockdown. All economies, rich and poor, are falling into recession and can limit the fallout only by working together.

In this time of economic instability, we can look to the past to understand how we got here, and what might come next for the shifting global economy. China and the U.S. are key players in shaping what comes next.

The global recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is almost certain to be far deeper and more protracted than the one that followed the 2008 global financial crisis. While many governments have pledged to bolster their economies with unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus – despite holding already-massive public debt – the best they can probably hope for is to stave off economic collapse. If they insist on turning inward – pointing fingers and erecting barriers, instead of upholding international cooperation and economic engagement – even that may become impossible.

The coronavirus pandemic has sent firms into a frenzied dash to raise cash, a somber sign that the worst of the coronavirus is still ahead of us. Central banks may be called on yet again to prevent a global funding crisis.

China developed an app to help make a return to "normal life".

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global production to come to a grinding halt, and the economic fallout is far more abysmal than economists and leaders seem to recognize. The plan for recovery that is currently being enacted will do little to mitigate the inevitable devastation in our near future.

Global financial conditions, including heavy debt, are nearing a tipping point that could lead to protracted trouble. Protectionism and other factors risk disrupting the world’s fragile supply chains and driving the world into a 1930s-grade catastrophe.

East Asia’s underlying regional identity has always emerged in moments of crisis. The current pandemic provides an opportunity to more formally develop the mechanisms of community.

With the global COVID-19 crisis quickly escalating, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has had to accept a hard truth, rightly taking the initiative in telling the Diet (parliament) this week that the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games may need to be rescheduled, and ultimately reaching an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to postpone the event until 2021.