It was.. and always will be a tactical weapon to catalyze a Secondary Effect. A really good biological weapon kills everything... including the ones that released it so it is not a Kinetic Primary.
This has all the characteristics one would want in Tactical Asymmetrical Weapon. Treatable, Low-Death Rate, High Transmission, Long Incubation, doesn't go away in summer... etc...
But like all Asymmetrical options, there is a psychological effect.. and this has been 100% effective.
Devalued GDP of your adversary, Civil Unrest, Shutdowns, and observational analysis will show every weak point in the adversary's fabric. Like
@Howland said... this virus has disrupted our OODA loop in terms of Statecraft. Because we have 3 Branches of Govt with 2 main parties... cannot present a unified front.
Smart....
You're forgetting some things:
1.) has locked down China twice now
2.) This has disrupted flows of goods out of China to other countries, causing hiccups in the supply line that makes companies want to shift to other areas like Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan
3.) This has also affected flow of goods into the country which, combined with the locust plague on their western borders, and monsoons causing flooding, killing crops and livestock in their heartland, has started the beginning of a food shortage in the country. On top of that, for nationalist reasons, they shut off the importation of meat from their largest meat trade partner, Australia(and we picked them up just as quickly).
4.) This has, along with their seizing goods being shipped out, and making short sighted power moves, started to localize resentment against the country, and mobilize stuff against them. The collapse of the One Belt, One Road initiative has accellerated. Japan is now remilitarizing, and opening talks with Malaysia, India, Phillipines, and India for a united front with the US. These countries are also doing their own pushbacks(Australia calling out China and putting limits on their purchases in country, Malaysia indicting people involved in OBOR, India and their border fight with China, etc).
5.) This has galvanized countries to push back against China, for example, a high level Trump member visiting Taiwan, first in 4 decades.
6.) This, combined with their housing bubble, is causing enormous strain on the economy of China at the worst moment, when they are trying to transition from a manufacturing economy to a service one.
You see a grand conspiracy, masterfully pulled off. I see a bumbling country, making misstep after misstep, acting short sighted and looking inwards, when they should be building bridges. Time will tell who's right, but I'm betting I am. I expect it to take 10 years, but I expect China to be isolated again, most manufacturing gone, and the economy sputtering. Basically, a return to the 1980's China. They pushed too far, too quick, and alienated too many.
