As the coronavirus crisis in China escalated, I began to notice glowing news reports about the latest technological innovation to fight the outbreak: contactless delivery.

McDonald’s, Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and a string of Chinese delivery companies were trialling apparently cutting-edge technology. Intrigued by the buzz, I tried it. I logged on to Meituan, my Chinese food delivery app of choice, ordered “contactless delivery” dumplings and waited. Within an hour, my groundbreaking online shopping experience was complete: the courier left my dinner at the entrance to my apartment.

The coronavirus outbreak is proving a marketing boon for Chinese tech companies with products they can connect to fighting the virus — however tenuous that connection may be.