China’s combative diplomats and state media are resistant about the label “vaccine diplomacy” . The term touches a raw nerve in Beijing. A Xinhua commentary said it was “malign” to suggest Beijing was attaching strings and seeking to increase geopolitical influence while selling vaccines abroad . But vaccines undeniably took a prominent place in China’s diplomacy in 2020, and that is likely to continue in 2021. In a long interview last weekend, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said “cooperation to fight the pandemic” was a theme running through China’s diplomacy last year. Vaccines were prominent when Wang talked about relations with Asean, Africa and Russia. He also made it clear that China positioned itself as a provider of vaccines for developing countries. Vaccines are brought up in almost every bilateral meeting between China and developing countries, as in a telephone conversation between Wang and his Mexican counterpart Marcelo Ebrard last week. Several Middle Eastern countries are the first to approve Chinese vaccines for general use. But vaccine diplomacy is about more than just selling the jabs. The vaccines have to be effective in controlling Covid-19 in a country, and that has to do with many factors, not just the vaccines. Inside China’s exhausting race to develop a coronavirus vaccine Even if they are effective, it is difficult for China to attach strings when selling vaccines because the leverage is only temporary. If China’s vaccines are successful the vaccines will no longer be needed. There are many examples in the past when pharmaceutical firms shut down production lines once a disease was under control. But if Chinese vaccines are not effective, if the immunity induced is too short-lived or there are better options around, especially after the initial demands of Western countries are met, then Chinese vaccines will eventually lose their competitiveness. Still, successful vaccines can repair China’s tarnished image over the Covid-19 pandemic to a certain degree. As Wang puts it, his ministry was busy last year trying to reshape international narrative and collective memory about the pandemic that began in 2019. But to start with, the vaccines have to be effective and produce lasting immunity. China also has to convince the world that it is transparent and meets international standards by acquiring prequalification from the World Health Organization . Otherwise, if anything goes wrong during the immunisation programme, whether it is related to the vaccine or not, China will be blamed and its push for soft power will backfire.