A brutal day of hand-to-hand combat on the India-China border last month may accomplish what years of Pentagon and White House outreach has struggled to achieve: draw the U.S. and India closer militarily.

Chinese President Xi Jinping took center stage Monday. Over a video feed, he delivered the opening speech at an annual meeting held by the World Health Organization, casting his nation as an exemplar of "transparency" during the pandemic and a champion of the developing world. Xi announced a $2 billion commitment to the international fight against the novel coronavirus, including funding to help reinforce health infrastructure in Africa.