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Power jab: the rise of vaccine diplomacy

“Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister, embarked on a nine-nation tour of Africa and south-east Asia at the beginning of this year, offering jabs and investment for would-be allies. Some of China’s customers are predictable — political allies such as Pakistan (which will receive 22 million doses) or booming trade partners like Turkey (50 million doses). Strongmen leaders, in particular, gravitate towards Beijing’s gifts: in the Philippines, where China has donated half a million vaccines on top of a 25 million dose order, President Rodrigo Duterte was photographed attentively squeezing hand sanitiser on to Wang’s hand.”

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/power-jab-the-rise-of-vaccine-diplomacy