Photo: Reuters
International relations specialist Professor Robert Patman, speaking on Global Insight, said the new virus, which has killed more than 1100 people and infected perhaps as many as 300,000, was a ‘‘Black Swan event’’ - a dramatic, unexpected occurrence such as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, which brought the US in to World War 2, or the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster, which hastened the end of the Cold War - that could heighten tensions within China and test the legitimacy of Xi Jinping’s leadership.
See below for full video interview:
