As COVID-19 continues its path throughout the world, it is clear that China has been the worst hit. According to a recent China Caixin report and various manufacturing indexes, mainland factory activity has hit a record low. Before COVID-19, China forged ahead united in the face of a vicious trade war, massive Hong Kong protests, individual sanctions, and high-level targeting of its tech sector. It wasn’t until patient zero appeared and the subsequent spread of COVID-19 that China took a substantial socioeconomic loss. China has now renewed its focus on guarding against bio-terror by pivoting toward a robust bio defense program to protect both people and property. It is unclear who or what unleashed COVID-19 on the Chinese and by extension, the world, but the quandary presents a formidable riddle.

Understanding how bio-weapons work are essential to preparedness for nations around the world, and it seems China will now too lead that initiative. Perhaps the greatest case of actual a damage bio-weapons can inflict is best demonstrated by the First Nations (Native American) people in the United states. It is estimated that the majority of First Nation’s people were decimated by disease rather than war. According to an article by Andrew J. Ghio, Particle exposure and the historic loss of Native American lives to infection, published at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health, it was exposure to foreign pathogens which reduced native populations in the united states. Ghio writes, “Beginning in the 15th century, interactions with Europeans resulted in a cataclysmic decrease in the population of peoples indigenous to the Americas. In addition to deliberate killings and wars, Native Americans died in massive numbers from infections endemic among Europeans. Much of this was associated with respiratory tract infections including smallpox, tuberculosis, measles, and influenza. (Ghio 2017, Am J Respir Crit Care Med).”

In addition to deliberate killings and wars, Native Americans died in massive numbers from infections endemic among Europeans. Much of this was associated with respiratory tract infections including smallpox, tuberculosis, measles, and influenza.

According to a popular, PBS documentary, Guns Germs & Steel: Variables. Smallpox, it is estimated that foreign antigens ripped the American continent, decimating nearly 90 percent of the native population. The Use of African slaves was actually necessitated by the fact that Africans genetics made them the fittest for survival against such pathogens. A concept now corroborated by scientific study out of Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania. The bio devastation that began in the 15th Century which decimated Native Americans serves as a cautionary tail of the potential for foreign pathogens. Currently, the U.S. Native population sits at just over 2 percent according to the U.S. Census Bureau, it is a grim reminder of the necessity of national preparedness.

Worldwide, nations are learning that blind dependence may be a mistake, as changes in the world landscape create social and economic changes that alter the fortunes and the future of growing many. Nations can no longer be naive and lazy about the development of every sector of their society. Economic, medical, defense, education, technological, and infrastructural challenges must be solved with immediacy and competence. As the world advances, we are not sure how nations will respond to major socioeconomic changes in currency, hegemony, and diplomatic reason–particularly for nations with win/lose cultural ideologies that quickly pivot to attack rather than reason.  It is clear, the international landscape is changing in very disturbing ways. Citizens, entrepreneurs and businesses will need to be clever about their affiliations and interactions moving forward.

It is clear, the international landscape is changing in very disturbing ways. Citizens, entrepreneurs and businesses will need to be clever about their affiliations and interactions moving forward.

While nations scramble for a vaccine, the zero sum financial system is now posting gains for the U.S. Dollar. According to a February 2010 Fortune article, the dollar is growing stronger, making it harder for U.S. multinationals to remain competitive abroad. But also making purchasing a challenge for dollar-pegged currencies. China itself has decided to donate millions to the World Health Organization to help with the fight, according to World Health Organization Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and a recent March 2020 Siasat Daily article.  COVID-19 has revealed the vulnerabilities of populations and socioeconomic systems, indicating the dire need for a stark pivot toward the new technological future. A future where bio-weapons, economic attacks and other tactics may be employed to sway the balance of power in the world.

China itself has decided to donate millions to the World Health Organization to help with the fight, according to World Health Organization Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and a recent March 2020 Siasat Daily article.

Businesses will need to not only assess the state of markets at home and abroad, but also those sociopolitical changes and historic patterns that govern the movements of nations and economic blocks. While challenging, COVID-19 continues to challenge the worlds developing and developed nations. The Corona virus has not only accelerated movement toward a new reality, but it has underscored the disadvantages of the current reality.