Chinese manufacturing can start anytime they like, but what western manufacturer is going to buy Chinese goods very far ahead of the date that they will actually be needed? They aren't going to send their cash reserves to China before they are up and running themselves. Without a market for their goods, there could be a lot of unemployed and hungry Chinese before too long.
People in every country will demand to know how COVID-19 started and what possessed the Chinese to lie and allow it to spread across the globe. The Chinese will be held accountable and it will hurt them. Personally, I'd ban anyone with a Chinese passport from entering the U.S. through at least 12/31/20 and I would require anyone who is currently in the U.S. on a non-diplomatic Chinese passport to leave within the next 30 days.
