“All the U.S. diplomats cared about was that these scientists had discovered three new viruses that had a unique characteristic: they contained a ‘spike protein’ that was particularly good at grabbing on to a specific receptor in human lung cells known as an ACE2 receptor. That means the viruses were potentially very dangerous for humans—and that these viruses were now in a lab with which they, the U.S. diplomats, were largely unfamiliar.” Politico: In 2018, Diplomats Warned of Risky Coronavirus Experiments in a Wuhan Lab. No One Listened.

+ “While political leaders trade threats, the pandemic has made Americans even more reliant on China’s manufacturers.” Peter Hessler in The New Yorker: The Rise of Made-in-China Diplomacy.

+ NYT: Brazil Needs Vaccines. China Is Benefiting.

+ Want more visibility into these China stories? Avoid Beijing, where the visibility is about two inches at the moment, as a sandstorm and pollution send readings off the scale.