China has been hailed as the engine of growth for the world economy. Now its ill-repute as the incubationsite for the deadly SARS virus puts China and its new leadership in a different spotlight. The openness andefficiency that the crisis requires will put China's secretive, bureaucratic system to the test. How theleaders deal with the crisis will not only affect China's trade, travel and other interactions with the worldbut the country's domestic political future as well.