China targets western vaccines: from vaccine diplomacy to vaccine warfare?

To improve relations, Beijing first sent millions of mouth masks to Europe and Africa, the so-called “mouth mask diplomacy”. “Vaccine Diplomacy”, after vaccine, mouth mask. In no time, factories were set up to produce billions of supplements. China wants to become a leader in the international vaccine race. The country wants to show how it has become a superpower in the field of science and technology.

At least 40 countries have now shown interest in Chinese vaccines. This primarily concerns poor countries in Africa and Latin America who cannot afford to compete with rich countries buying the more expensive Pfizer vaccine en warts. Developing countries also welcome Chinese vaccines because they are made according to traditional vaccine technology, meaning that vaccines should not be taken at extreme cold temperatures such as Pfizer.

For example, China hopes to increase its influence regionally in and around the South China Sea, where the country has regional ambitions. With the help of vaccine diplomacy, Beijing also seeks to silence international criticism of human rights violations in Uygar and Hong Kong. And the vaccine diplomacy is also giving substance to President Xi Jinping’s new Silk Road plans from an economic standpoint. Infrastructure has already been established in Ethiopia and Dubai for the distribution of Chinese vaccines in Africa and the Middle East.