China is striving for global leadership, and has the economic clout to realize its vision.

When Covid-19 shut down much of China through February, the crisis highlighted how dependent international companies truly are on Chinese manufacturing.

In short order, international firms making products from clothes to consumer electronics were paralyzed as work froze at Chinese factories assembling their goods or producing essential components. The reliance on China came into still greater relief once Covid-19 hit countries such as the US, which discovered they couldn’t produce enough medical masks and other equipment domestically because they’d outsourced the work long ago to China.

To make sure they aren’t caught in similar straits again, some nations have begun offering companies financial incentives to move manufacturing out of China and build more resilient supply chains. Less dependence on China would also have the added bonus for these countries of reducing China’s geopolitical leverage.