If China’s latest pronouncements are any indication, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, pandemic is raising the tensions between the United States and China to dangerous levels. With the impact of the trade war in China being magnified by the pandemic and other events, a new tone is present in Beijing’s rhetoric. Like much of the world, of course, China is in very turbulent economic waters, with widespread business bankruptcies and unemployment a real possibility. That’s very bad news for the CCP, whose sole claim on power is economic performance. President Donald Trump’s objective in launching the trade war with China was to reverse the flow of American manufacturers’ relocation to China, and bringing their manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Ultimately, Trump’s trade policies were intended to reroute established global supplies chains out of China altogether. The thinking was that as the trade war progressed, the loss of economic activity would exert significant pressure on the Chinese economy. By extension, it would undercut the CCP’s legitimacy as the sole ruling authority in China. Rising levels of internal dissent would, hopefully, weaken the Chinese regime’s grip on the country and perhaps inhibit its expansionist appetites.