China's COVID-19 Vaccine May Be Used for Geopolitical Efforts

In the middle of the race for mass manufacturing of a coronavirus vaccine, China has moved to give an early opportunity to access its developed treatment to a few selected countries. The tactic is Beijing's latest move to support its international relationships amid the strain of the coronavirus pandemic.

Forming good relationships

China's Foreign Ministry notified the Philippine government that it would provide the country priority access to Beijing's developed COVID-19 vaccine. Private Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech Ltd. said it would cooperate with Brazil and Indonesia to manufacture several hundreds of millions of doses.

According to the New York Post, China had also reached out to one of the country's closest allies, Pakistan, to give China National Pharmaceutical Group the freedom to conduct clinical trials within the country. In exchange, Beijing would provide doses that would be distributed to about one-fifth of Pakistan's population of 220 million people.

Currently, six leading coronavirus vaccine candidates are being developed and tested for widespread use. Among these developments, Chinese state-owned and private companies are involved in the research and production of three.

The other three manufacturers are companies that are based in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Earlier this year, China's government started the sale of face masks and medical supplies and equipment to several countries in an attempt to forge good relationships after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was criticized for its lackluster response to the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis.

The director of global health, Thomas J. Bollyky, of the Council on Foreign Relations, told reporters that coronavirus vaccines would be limited in supply in the initial vaccinations, more so compared to the supply of face masks.

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The fight for the vaccine

Last week, Russia claimed it had successfully developed a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine and registered the treatment for widespread use. The move under fire from criticism from several international and local experts, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it would move to review Russia's developed vaccine and its results. Despite the hastened process, Moscow revealed that several countries had already reached out to try and acquire a portion of the vaccine, including Brazil, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Petrovax, a private Russian firm, has been working with authorities to test a vaccine made by China's CanSino. The company also said it would work to develop a coronavirus vaccine in Moscow that would be distributed within the country and be given to former Soviet nations.

Trump's administration, on the other hand, has not been public with its plans after developing its own supply of COVID-19 vaccines. Last week, Alex Azar, the secretary for Health and Human Services, said that the United States would share the vaccines it develops with other nations only after successfully meeting its own needs.

China has successfully eradicated the coronavirus within its borders and gives Beijing added freedom to provide vaccines to other countries. Another possible reason for Beijing's generosity is the lack of infections within the country makes it difficult to test and research the safety and efficacy of its vaccine candidate.