The real US-China coronavirus vaccine race is against time – not each other

Given the global vaccine shortage, the two should be looking at how to supply as many vaccines as quickly as possible, particularly to poorer nations
While each can respond to the call for help on its own, US-China cooperation can set an example for other countries to join the effort as well

Zha Daojiong

Published: 1:00am, 6 Mar 2021

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China’s activism in sharing its Covid-19 vaccines with developing countries is increasingly attracting media attention. The United States is set to be another major vaccine supplier after it secures enough doses for domestic use, a goal it aims to reach by May.

Even before Chinese vaccine donations and sales began, US commentators foresaw the production and distribution of vaccines as an “unavoidably competitive endeavour” on a par with the space race during the height of the Cold War. As expected, Chinese commentators reject the claim that the Chinese government uses vaccine access to increase its global influence and iron out geopolitical issues.

It is true that the humanitarian imperative offers those governments with vaccine supplies an economic and diplomatic opportunity as well. Recipients are indeed likely to repay with goodwill those who have offered a helping hand in their time of need.

But arguing that vaccine diplomacy is primarily about geopolitical motives does not stand up to scrutiny. Differences between countries exist precisely because they have proven difficult to resolve in the past. History shows that generous help in search and rescue after an earthquake or other natural disaster seldom leads to a fundamental shift in diplomatic relations.

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Making a country’s vaccines globally accessible, furthermore, is intrinsically different from acts of aid diplomacy for which a country also sees interest and can claim prestige.

First, the Covid-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented vaccination challenge for the developing world. Traditionally, effective vaccination coverage mainly applies to the child population. But Covid-19 vaccines must cover much of the entire population to achieve herd immunity. The global demand for vaccines is, therefore, tremendous. The idea of one country making way for another in delivering aid – as if it were some sort of monopolistic opportunity – does not and should not apply.

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Second, vaccine diplomacy has to go beyond supplies to consider the interoperability of the vaccination programmes between the aid-providing country and its recipients.

Only 120 out of 194 World Health Organization members reported having adult vaccination programmes in 2018. Africa and Southeast Asia had the fewest adult immunisation programmes, with fewer than 11 per cent of countries reporting any adult immunisation programmes for influenza or hepatitis vaccines, and none for pneumococcal vaccines.

Tracking the effects of a vaccine after injection is in reality the fourth phase in its development. Infrastructure and technical expertise in conducting prior adult vaccination makes a difference in the deployment of Covid-19 vaccines.

Vaccination programme gaps between high- and low-income countries require vaccine-supplying countries to consider interoperability ahead of diplomatic affinity or distance. With vaccine shortage a worldwide reality, ineffectively deployed vaccines are a waste of precious resources and morally wrong.

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Third, countries in need of a Covid-19 vaccine have their own, often economic, considerations as well. In a world where the virus knows no borders, vaccines are a commodity. Ideally, needy countries can benefit from vaccine diplomacy by obtaining the licence to manufacture the vaccine for themselves or to sell to nearby countries, which can cut the vaccine distribution times and costs as well.

In the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN), a public-health driven alliance which comprises at least 43 vaccine manufacturers from 14 countries and territories, members are increasingly showing their industry sophistication by producing WHO pre-qualified vaccines. Quality assurance is in place.

A truly smart act of diplomacy is for a government with vaccines to respond to the growing call for the DCVMN and other qualified manufacturers to help to make more Covid-19 vaccines available faster.

China and the US do not have to act in tandem in deciding to take up the call. But if they decide to cooperate in enlarging the global supply of Covid-19 vaccines, they each stand to benefit in geopolitical terms. US-China cooperation in this regard can set an example for other countries to join the effort as well.

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Fourth, the Covax Facility led by vaccine alliance Gavi and endorsed by the WHO now counts both China and the US among its participants. US President Joe Biden’s decision to join Covax right after his inauguration is indeed praiseworthy. So is China’s decision to contribute with its vaccines.

The scheme is a major step forward in the ethical response to the inequality of public health capacities around the globe. The continuing support from both governments can and should be parallel to their bilateral arrangements with the facility’s other participants.

Race for Covid-19 vaccines only widens the rich-poor gap

Fifth, for the World Trade Organization to play a role in helping to bring down the cost of vaccine production, it should revisit the resistance to a call from India and South Africa to temporarily suspend intellectual property rules related to Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.

The details of any such suspension will need work, as recovering investment costs must be assured as well. But the idea of lowering the costs of vaccine production is in line with reaching the goal of fast worldwide vaccination. If China and the US can positively cooperate with other members under the multilateral framework, a WTO-mandated mechanism for lowering costs stands a better chance of being found.

In short, the sharing of vaccines goes beyond the narrow realm of competition between the offering parties. It requires that governments which have their own vaccines, such as China and the US, address the effective vaccination of needy countries above other considerations.

Using vaccines as an instrument of geopolitical competition is unjustifiable. Vaccine diplomacy can also be a realm of cooperation, for the long-term diplomatic benefit of vaccine providers as well.

Zha Daojiong is a professor in the School of International Studies and Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University. This article was written as part of preparations for a speech at the annual China Development Forum, organised by the State Council’s Development Research Centre, on March 22