[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Oldeconomybuyer :" The mayor of the Chinese city where a deadly virus broke out
says he would be willing to resign if it helps the government contain its spread."

Quite the contrary, he needs to stay.
There is need for experienced govt. officials
who know the local resources and can command with leadership.
Nothing can be gained by his departure too !

[norwaypinesavage]

" he needs to stay. There is need for experienced govt. officials who know the local resources and can command with leadership."

You're assuming that he's not corrupt. That's not a good assumption in a Communist country.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

This is a typical Chinese face-saving action required by custom and protocol. Nothing more. He won't really resign as there's nothing to be achieved by that. But custom requires he offer to resign to restore his reputation.

Here is a link to a good explanation of 'Face' Culture in China. Here are some excerpts:

Although in the West we talk about “saving face” on occasion, the concept of “face” (面子）is far more deeply-rooted in China, and it’s something you’ll hear people talk about all the time.

'Face'
Just like in the English expression “saving face,” the “face” we’re talking about here isn’t a literal face. Rather, it’s a metaphor for a person’s reputation amongst their peers. So, for example, if you hear it said that someone “has face,” that means that they have a good reputation. Someone who doesn’t have face is someone who has a very bad reputation.

Common Expressions Involving 'Face'
Having face (有面子): Having a good reputation or good social standing.
Not having face (没面子): Not having a good reputation or having bad social standing.
Giving face (给面子): Giving deference to someone in order to improve their standing or reputation, or to pay homage to their superior reputation or standing.
Losing face (丢脸): Losing social status or hurting one’s reputation.
Not wanting face (不要脸): Acting shamelessly in a way that suggests one doesn’t care about one’s own reputation.

'Face' in Chinese Society
Although there are obviously exceptions, in general, Chinese society is quite conscious of hierarchy and reputation among social groups. People who have good reputations can buoy the social standing of others by “giving them face” in various ways. At school, for example, if a popular child chooses to play or do a project with a new student who’s not well known, the popular child is giving the new student face, and improving their reputation and social standing within the group. Similarly, if a child tries to join a group that’s popular and is rebuffed, they will have lost face.

The mayor has obviously "lost face" as a result of letting this get out of control. Offering to resign is a gesture to "restore face."

[Zhang Fei]

[Quite the contrary, he needs to stay.
There is need for experienced govt. officials
who know the local resources and can command with leadership.
Nothing can be gained by his departure too ! ]

---

He’s not local. In order to retain central control and prevent local leaders from cultivating power bases that might feed separatist tendencies in times of turmoil, senior officials are not only helicoptered in from other provinces, they are also rotated periodically in order to prevent them from going native. This is how the Chinese empire has been held together for thousands of years. The regimes change, but the methods remain the same.