China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has signaled a more assertive strategy for dealing with the coronavirus epidemic after days of seeming to retreat from center stage. His convening of a second special Communist Party meeting on Monday was only his second public appearance since the government in Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak, took the extraordinary step of locking down the city on Jan. 23. That order was almost certainly approved at the highest levels in Beijing. Mr. Xi sent Premier Li Keqiang to Wuhan more than a week ago, when the death toll stood at 106. By Tuesday, the toll in China was more than 420 deaths. The Chinese government has reported 20,438 confirmed cases — roughly 15,000 more than during the SARS outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. Mr. Xi, presiding over a meeting of the Politburo […]