What I Would Have Done: Covid and China

By Patrick Bromley

4/3/2025

 

As the Covid pandemic swept across the world in 2020 governments poured billions of dollars into their economies to deal with the effects of the virus. This included implementing safety measures, researching vaccines, and providing economic assistance to businesses and workers affected. Unfortunately, all this deficit spending led to worldwide inflation in the coming years.

 

Whether the Covid-19 virus originated in a laboratory or wet market it started in Wuhan, China and thusly the Chinese government bore fault for allowing it to spread. What I would have done if I were President is gather leaders from all the other countries and demand that China pay for their mistake.

 

Now, China could not pay all the expenses incurred by all countries so the demand would have been that China has to forgive all government held debt of other countries and refund 4 years of interest payments. For example, China owns about $1 trillion of US government debt so the demand would be that the debt be canceled, and 4 years of interest be refunded. The money saved and refunded would have been put towards dealing with Covid issues.

 

Would it have worked? If the rest of the world banded together to pressure China, I would think it had a chance. Asking for 4 years of interest payments to be refunded is a negotiating strategy; ask for 4 years of refunds and settle for 2.

The What I Would Have Done series highlights the actions I advocated when critical events were happening. Of course, any brilliant ideas I had at the time were simply broadcast into the ether and had no chance of being heard or implemented by those in charge.