Coronavirus vaccine: China’s strong ties with Serbia create a stepping stone into European market

Delays in Astra-Zeneca vaccine production and missteps in EU vaccination programmes are in contrast to Serbia’s roll-out, the second fastest in Europe

French president says there is not enough scientific data about Chinese vaccines, but ‘we can be impressed by the Chinese efficiency’

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A man receives the Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in Belgrade on Thursday. Serbia inoculated more than 450,000 of its 7 million people in almost two weeks, a rate that exceeds all countries in Europe outside Britain, according to the scientific publication Our World in Data. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:00pm, 8 Feb 2021Updated: 8:48am, 9 Feb 2021

As European nations struggle with shortages of Covid-19 vaccines, China has stepped in with supplies to Serbia and Hungary, reaping the political benefits of its soft diplomacy strategy on the continent.

Serbia’s vaccination programme for a population of 6.95 million people was turbocharged by a shipment of 1 million doses from Chinese maker Sinopharm (China National Pharmaceutical Group Corp) on January 17. Serbia has the second-fastest roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines in Europe, behind Britain, according to Oxford University’s Our World in Data, which tracks global inoculations.

Hungary then became the first European Union member to unilaterally approve the Chinese-made vaccine for emergency use on January 29. It ordered 5 million doses, enough for a quarter of its population.

China’s success in these countries contrasts with the EU’s stumbles in vaccine distribution among its 27 member states. The bloc’s purchase of 300 million doses faces delays after British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said production problems would cut deliveries in February and March to 31 million from the planned 80 million.

As of January, less than 4 per cent of the EU’s combined population of 450 million had been vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.