China may have taken political advantage of this; but I’ve wondered if they themselves weren’t exactly sure of what they had on their hands.
I think they released it on purpose. The people of Hong Kong were mocking them for over a year, and they dared not send in the army for fear of driving away investment and business, so they fumed and fumed until I think they hit upon the idea of creating a public health crisis that would allow them to send in the army under cover of a "medical emergency."
And it worked. They got the millions of protestors off the streets and have now successfully suppressed that Hong Kong independence from the Chinese leadership nonsense.
As a bonus, it helped them get rid of Trump, who was putting the hurt on them with his trade policy.
I think Georgia was swung by Chinese money going to the governor and the Secretary of state.