In China, local authorities, in particular that of the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, have played a key role throughout the health crisis. For one thing, the important decisions have been made at this level; for another, most of the spending to fight COVID-19, including bonuses paid to the health professionals called into action, has been borne by local authorities. The role of central government, while hardly negligible, has consisted of coordinating the deployment of health professionals and supplies across regions, of rallying industry, and of financing a limited proportion of public spending. While this system of mobilizing resources has allowed efforts to be directed at the grassroots level, it raises questions of interregional equality and of the borrowing capacity of local authorities, particularly those in the poorest regions.