Editor’s note: This is a two-part analysis on the politics behind Africa’s procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. The continent appears forced to look toward China, rather than the West. Read Part II here.
The Nigerian government, on January 5, signified interest in procuring COVID-19 vaccines from China.
Geoffery Onyeama, Nigeria’s foreign minister, stated that Nigeria is “engaging with China” to access COVID-19 vaccines for the country, during a press conference with Wang Yi, Chinese foreign minister in Abuja.
Today, i held a bilateral meeting with Wang Yi, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister. Signed an Agreement to establish an intergovernmental committee to coordinate cooperation between our two countries. @China emb ng@MFA China@NigeriaGov@NiyiAdebayo pic.twitter.com/vPemaQvomW
China looks to turn vaccine distribution into diplomacy
January 17, 2021
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The hottest commodity on the planet right now is the COVID-19 vaccine.
As wealthy countries such as the United States, Canada, and European nations stockpile doses â according to some estimates, enough to vaccinate their entire populations multiple times over â that leaves less wealthy countries wondering where to turn.
That s where China has stepped in, offering priority access to Chinese-developed vaccines to countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
The effort could end up being a soft power diplomacy tool for China, says Yangzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and director of global health studies at Seton Hall University s School of Diplomacy and International Relations.