Beijing seizes its chance

By offering aid to countries hit by coronavirus, China is exploiting the crisis to burnish its global image

Having failed to inform the world about the outbreak of coronavirus in the central Chinese city of Wuhan last November, Beijing has made sure-footed moves to enhance its image as the world’s do-gooder and leader in the response to the pandemic. There is something astonishing about China’s boldness. After all, it was China's own mistakes — especially its initial attempts to mask the severity and spread of Covid-19 — that created the crisis now afflicting much of the world. But Beijing seems to assume that if it is perceived as leading the world in countering Covid-19 — while the American