As the world struggles to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, which first emerged in China, Chinese President Xi Jinping is pursuing his quest for regional dominance more aggressively than ever. From the Himalayas to Hong Kong and Tibet to the South and East China Seas, Xi seems to be picking up where Mao Zedong left off, with little fear of international retribution.The parallels between Xi and the despots of the past are obvious.

Until recently, China was unmistakably trying to be a hegemon in the image of the United States (US), increasingly complementing its growing hard power with soft power. But China seems to have missed its opportunity to build a serious rival to, or even supplant, the existing world economic order fashioned by the US following World War II.All the elements of success seemed to be falling into place for China.

The oft-repeated idea that COVID-19 is “the great equalizer” is a myth. There is no equality of suffering or equality of sacrifice during a pandemic that is disproportionately hurting the poorest and most vulnerable.And while the health emergency has disproportionately harmed the elderly poor, the unprecedented education crisis caused by the pandemic is now hurting the poorest children hardest and creating a generation that will lose out on learning.

On 11 March, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 virus outbreak as a pandemic due to the exponential increase in the number of cases in more than 100 countries. Then on 16 March, President Duterte placed the entire Philippines under a “State of Calamity” amid the threats posed by COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic is taking a heavy toll not only in terms of human lives, but also on the world’s economy. The World Trade Organization (WTO) forecasts that global trade will fall between 13 and 32 percent across all regions and sectors in 2020.

At a time when every Southeast Asian economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic – ASEAN member state Brunei reported close to an eight percent increase in car sales in the first five months of 2020. This is indicative of the insatiable appetite of Bruneians’ for cars. According to figures released by the ASEAN Automotive Federation, a total of 5,388 units of cars were sold in the Sultanate within that period, compared to 4,966 units sold within the same period last year.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to ban Huawei from its 5G networks has dealt a painful blow to China. Until recently, China was still counting on the UK to stick to its earlier decision to allow the Chinese telecom giant to supply non-core equipment for the country’s 5G networks.But two recent developments made such a decision untenable. The first was the United States’ (US) escalation of its war on Huawei.

After 13 comprehensive and exhaustive congressional hearings – the controversial franchise application of ABS-CBN was finally concluded on 10 July.

Every day, the COVID-19 pandemic costs the world thousands more lives and billions more dollars. The most efficient way to bring this crisis to an end – possibly as early as next year – is with a safe and effective vaccine, manufactured in large quantities and distributed globally.

The global toll of the COVID-19 pandemic is enormous: more than a half-million lives lost, hundreds of millions out of work, and trillions of dollars of wealth destroyed. And the disease has by no means run its course; hundreds of thousands more could well die from it.Not surprisingly, there is tremendous interest in the development of a vaccine, with more than a hundred efforts under way around the world.