The coronavirus has only deepened U.S.-China competition and could weaken America’s global standing if Washington continues to stubbornly adhere to “America first” and forgo its long-standing international leadership.

Back in January, I predicted that the spread of the new COVID-19 coronavirus in China would reach a turning point by the second or third week of February.

Those who ignore the lessons of history are bound to repeat past mistakes. Panic, negligence, inefficiency and waste are the fruit of human weaknesses, not the strength of the coronavirus. This must change, and there’s not a moment to spare.

Long before the coronavirus outbreak, the number-crunchers were at work modeling various possibilities for shifting supply-chains. The epidemic has provided a preview of just how bad things can get.

A major test of the global governance system and the governance systems and capacities of individual countries is unfolding before our eyes as the coronavirus pandemic envelops the globe.

Double trouble is headed our way if major countries fail to put aside their geopolitical squabbles and and work together, if only temporarily. The epidemic cannot be ended by one country acting on its own.

COVID-19’s impact on Chinese manufacturing has had ripple effects around the world, and the Philippines is no exception. The potential long-term damage that the pandemic can do to the Philippine economy may necessitate amendments to the Philippine portion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The world is reeling from the novel coronavirus epidemic. While the epidemic has been effectively contained in China, many other important economies across the world are being hit hard, and humanity has been thrown into crisis mode.

The U.S. and Taiwan have engineered a number of in-cremental breakthroughs and are using the coronavirus epidemic to create another. These moves damage Chi-nese sovereignty and violate international law. It’s un-likely to end well.

With the total of confirmed coronavirus infections surpassing 300,000 worldwide, panic has set in. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that humanity may be facing a crisis not seen in 75 years.