Please, it is naive to think that a country can not engage in world war without simultaneously engaging in international trade. The trade occurs beforehand, in preparation for the war effort.
Civilian manufacturing would be redirected to war production similar to the WWII effort here. Lack of natural resources including petroleum would be an impediment to certain countries, but not China for a period of several months, once all civilian uses were restricted.
Once again, I am not arguing that this swine "flu" outbreak is bio-engineered. However, it is mysterious from a technical point of view and the Chinese government behavior is extraordinarily obfuscatory, even compared to the SARS situation. Whether or not the swine disease has military origins, I believe the Chinese would be willing to sacrifice a major fraction of their population in an assault on Taiwan and the west.
I agree that the Chinese Communist system would be unlikely to defeat the west, whether or not international trade is a factor. However, if the Chinese mounted a full war effort, many of us would be dead and those Americans surviving would find their lives greatly changed.
I know the WHO is dying to get into China to see what is up there, but are refused the latitude they seek.
China must know that we would retaliate with bio-weapons of our own. I'm just trying to get my mind around that they would actually risk destroying the world to end up conquerors of a dead planet. Once I get past that irrational and insane plan.......