China is preparing the ground for “vaccine diplomacy”

The PRC's authorities promise some countries priority access to Covid-19 vaccines developed by Chinese companies or offer them loans for the purchase of desired doses. Some commentators are assessed as the beginning of Beijing's “vaccine diplomacy”.

No coronavirus vaccine has yet been approved for use by the World Health Organization (WHO), but individual governments are already seeking early doses for their citizens. Rich West countries invest in research or conclude contracts for the purchase of vaccines with producers, but the poorer countries cannot afford it.

According to WHO data, four out of eight potential vaccines that have entered the last, third phase of clinical trials on people are specifics developed by Chinese companies. The leader of the PRC XI Jinping promised that the Chinese vaccine would be a “global public good”, but it is not clear what exactly lies behind this statement.

Experts in matters of global health protection expect that China, Russia and other countries will try to use strong demand and translate any effective vaccine into a diplomacy tool – says the American daily Wall Street Journal.

The President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte revealed at the end of July that he asked XI for quick access to the Chinese vaccine when he was ready. The next day, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Philippines – “friendly, close to China” – will get the priority they ask for.

Beijing is striving for the support of the countries of the Association of Nations of Southeast Asia (ASEAN) in connection with the growing conflict with the United States, which is increasingly referred to as the “new Cold War”. The friction concerns, among others, the South China Sea, where China is fighting with several countries of the region, including the Philippines.

However, the Chinese authorities are also trying to “vaccine diplomacy” also in regions considered the US “yard”. The head of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi recently promised Latin American countries and a Caribbean loan in the amount of a billion dollars to buy a Covid-19 vaccine-the government of Mexico informed.

The United States is the most affected Pandemia of the world, and the US Minister Alex Azar announced that they will share the vaccine with other countries only after satisfying their own needs. However, according to official data, China has practically mastered Pandemia at home, so they can offer more freedom of vaccine.

Helping poorer countries in gaining vaccine access can improve the international position of China and strengthen their “soft power” – assessed the global health care specialist from the American Think Tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Yanzhong Huang, quoted by the daily “South China Morning Post”.

At an earlier stage of Covid-19 pandemic, China passed masks and other protective equipment to other countries. This was accompanied by an aggressive campaign of public diplomacy, which aroused considerable controversy in the West. Critics described her as “mask diplomacy” and assessed that she had a purpose to divert attention from the mistakes made by the Chinese authorities in the early stages of the crisis.

However, covering the demand for vaccines will be much more difficult in the initial period than for protective masks. “It will be a different level. That is why vaccine nationalism begins to take its toll,” said the director of the CFR Global health program Thomas J. Bollyky, quoted by “WSJ”.

Some commentators think that China must, above all, create a proven vaccine and provide 1.4 billion of their citizens. If they also want to play a role in global supplies, they must significantly increase their production capacity.

Another option is the transfer of technology that would allow other countries to produce vaccines developed in China. According to the media, Chinese companies conducted talks about such a solution, including with enterprises in Brazil and Indonesia. One of the reasons is the difficulty in studying potential vaccines in China, where very little new infections are recorded lately.

However, the problem may be the issue of a lack of trust in the Chinese pharmaceutical sector – notes “SCMP”. In recent years, China has shocked several scandals about vaccine safety, including specifics used to vaccinate children. Last year, regulations in the industry were tightened.

Andrzej Borowiak from the canton