If we supposed China takes a lead role in developing a successful vaccine, what would that look like going forward? Xi pledged to treat one as a "global public good" in May, two weeks after the ambassador to the EU initially declined to do so at that international teleconference. Would a credible claim to having invented a (major part of/breakthrough in) the vaccine be an effective way to wipe the slate clean? That would maybe be why China has been targeting vaccine research specifically for cyber-espionage, according to the FBI/DHS press release in May.