Commenting on the Covid-19 pandemic and China’s challenges in eradicating poverty, SMU Associate Professor of Political Science John Donaldson, said in many ways the coronavirus had been a "perfect storm" for people living in poverty in China, affecting many different sectors at the same time. In addition, Assoc Prof Donaldson said that local officials whose responsibility it had been to police poverty alleviation measures had been distracted with their fight against the coronavirus. He added that his biggest concern is that once the Chinese government announces it has eradicated absolute poverty, local authorities could cease to regard all poverty as an important issue, despite the millions of people who are still in need of urgent assistance.