Everywhere the United States retreats, China rushes in. The latest illustration is Beijing’s decision to join the initiative launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines around the world. China has not disclosed any details of its participation or specified how much it planned to pay to this fund called Covax, but it has decided to fill the void left by the United States of Donald Trump, determined to leave the international organization.
“Even when China is the world leader with several vaccines in advanced stages of R & D and with sufficient production capacity, it still decided to join Covax,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Friday. Hua Chunying. According to her, the move is proof of China’s commitment to “make Covid-19 vaccines a global public good , “ as President Xi Jinping promised in May.
The battle fought by the Gavi alliance
The Covax system, which aims to guarantee access to vaccines in 92 poor countries, was entrusted by the WHO to Gavi, the Alliance for vaccines founded in 2000. It has set itself the goal of securing 2 billion doses by 2021. China’s participation is a big win for Covax, which initially struggled to attract developed countries. The United States did not join the Covax initiative, which had extended the membership deadline until October 9 in hopes of attracting more members.
Many developed countries preferred to enter into their own exclusive agreements with vaccine suppliers, which Gavi said would leave the majority of the world’s population vulnerable and “allow the virus and its impact to continue unabated.” On its website, Gavi said Thursday it had received a pledge of $ 130 million from Japan, bringing the total to 1.8 billion from around 20 countries.
Restore your image
Much criticized for its initial management of the epidemic, Beijing is seeking to improve its image on the international scene. The negative perception of China in developed countries has reached record levels, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center . “The Chinese decision is consistent with Beijing’s desire to display itself as a responsible power, especially at a time when the United States appears to be not really ,” explains Antoine Bondaz, researcher at the Fondation pour la recherche. strategic. It is also proof of strong confidence in their ability to release a vaccine soon, which would be a considerable political blow, far exceeding the health impact ” .
China, which has succeeded in virtually eradicating the virus, very early on injected billions of yuan into the search for a vaccine. Of the eleven vaccines in Phase III clinical trials around the world, five originate from China. Even before the end of its trials, hundreds of thousands of people with jobs deemed essential in ports, hospitals, but also military and diplomatic personnel abroad have already been administered a vaccine since July, claimed. Chinese health officials at the end of September.
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