Despite former US National Security Adviser John Bolton’s juicy revelations about Trump’s conduct of foreign policy, his book does little to answer the fundamental question facing the US: Is its current foreign-policy muddle Trump’s fault, or the result of something deeper and more structural?

The pandemic has become a catalyst that’s driving people to reflect on the whole concept of globalization. It may be that the system we have lived with for 40 years has reached the end of its cycle.

Three directions are possible for a post-pandemic China that is reassessing its domestic and international goals. Whichever direction it chooses will have implications beyond its borders.

The notion of persuading countries in an expanded G7 to adhere to the U.S. line for containing China has far too much working against it. The schism between America and Europe is only widening under the unpredictable impulses of the current U.S. president.

The outbreak of the coronavirus has changed some fundamental things in the world order. Post-pandemic global governance will likely feature significant fragmentation. And it could unfold in a variety of ways.

China has increased its global outreach during this pandemic by sending critical medical supplies and financial aid to countries in need. The motive behind such diplomacy aside, China is providing some desperately-coveted help in the eleventh hour and saving lives around the world.

Underdeveloped nations with limited resources should be embraced as part of the world community. They are a relatively small but key element in the restoration of the global economy.

Belated COVID-19 mobilization has resulted in massive human costs and huge economic damage. If appropriate science-based medical policies are further ignored, a multi-year global contraction could follow.

COVID-19’s exponential growth has already offered the public a crash course in numeracy. It is also proving to be a crash test for systemic risk. While it is too soon for the final verdict, it is already clear that the US – not just its current leadership – will need a significant overhaul.

China is neither the former Soviet Union, nor intent on becoming the next America.