In the final analysis, history will undoubtedly judge President Trump’s fundamentally American strategy for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic to be far more effective than China’s heavy-handed actions.

Broadly speaking, the Trump administration’s approach was to restrict external travel from areas experiencing coronavirus outbreaks to minimize the number of initial exposures, then focus the nation’s resources on mitigation efforts — commonly called “flattening the curve.” China, in predictably repressive fashion, imposed draconian internal restrictions designed to isolate the outbreak to Hubei province, where it originated.