Wuhan is the capital of the Hubei province in central China, it is the most important transportation node in the Chinese industry. Therefore a strategic place in the Chinese production belt.

The city itself is important for its local industry. The symbol of Wuhan is the plum blossom, a flower that symbolizes Spring in China. This year, 2020, a rebirth of China will indeed begin in Wuhan.

Wuhan is the most important city in Central China. With 11 million, it is its most important educational, industrial and financial center. All this marks it as the worst place in China for a deadly and highly contagious epidemic to emerge. The place from where it would cause the greatest social and economic damage and from where it would spread most quickly to the rest of the country.

For the US bad luck, a few months ago, some United States troops were stationed there. They came to participate in some international military games.

The whole issue of where and when the Chinese Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID19) originates presents a series of unfortunate coincidences. The epidemic started just as the Chinese lunar Calendar New Year festivities began. New Year is the largest and most important Chinese family holiday, when everyone travels to their provincial homelands to join their family and friends.

It seems that the Devil in charge of the COVID19 epidemic did his homework well; he chose the perfect place and the perfect timing.

As Europe is the Developed-world region that has the most intense economic ties with China, it is also the region with the highest flow of people to and from China. Therefore, it was to be expected that Europe would catch the disease first and become the main focus of infection to spread the Pandemic.

The European country most affected by COVID-19 has been Italy. An indication of just divine anger, because Italy is the only European country of big economic importance, a member of the G7, which has sulphurous deals with China, such as daring to contract with the Chinese company Huwei for a fifth generation communications network, a technology that Washington denounces as a risk to  the confidentiality of NATO's security system.

Furthermore, Italy accepts Chinese investments to modernize its port and railway infrastructure. Serious sins attributable to the pernicious influence of Indo-European nationalist Matteo Salvini who is said to have quietly, along with Hungarian Orban and Russian Putin, worshiped a Pagan Eurasian rite.

In China, the Beijing government drastically and undemocratically isolated the citizens of Wuhan. That paralyzed transportation between China's production centers.

The entire Western press, including The Economist, campaigned with poor forecasts for the Chinese economy and pointing to stagnation in the Chinese market, China's greatest charm to foreign investors,

On a Monday, the first day after the Chinese New Year, when the Shanghai Stock Exchange opened again; About 3,500 shares listed there fell down to the 10% limit allowed by the Shenzhen Composite Index, the one which combines the movements of the 500 leading players on the stock market.

The losses were the largest since 2015. The yuan lost 1.5 against the dollar.

At the European and New York stock markets, the shares of companies that had invested in China also fell.

The Chinese government saw that as an opportunity and went into the stock markets to buy on the cheap large stock packages of foreign companies associated with Chinese companies in China. The initial investment of the Bank of China was relatively modest: US $ 170 billion. At the end of this operation, China had share control in all joint ventures with foreign investment in China.

When it was verified that China had already overcome the Pandemic, the stocks recovered and after the dust settled it could be seen on the market’s screens, that China had not only acquired control of foreign companies on Chinese soil, but that the bet on China had earned US$20 billion!

Almeria 03/22/2020

- Umberto Mazzei

(umberto Mazzei2@gmail.com)