OSW

SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

Chinese Vaccine Diplomacy Under the COVID-19 Era

Name

Ru (Bella) Jia

Major

Political Economy, Economics

Class

2022

About

Bella Jia is a senior student at Duke Kunshan University, majoring in Political Economy/ Economics. She is grateful for the education received at DKU.

Signature Work Project Overview

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic around the globe has shifted countries urgent need for basic medical goods to vaccines. China, as one of the pioneering countries of COVID-19 vaccines, has been exporting vaccines, both for commercial and aid purposes, to its trading partners. This article researches the economic and political factors that are correlated with China’s export of COVID-19 vaccines till end of December 2021. Regression results show that countries with stronger past economic relations with China are likely to import more vaccines from China. Strong political ties, such as high alignment with China in UN voting, also lead to more vaccine imports. These findings conclude that countries that hope to secure medical supply from China during major health crises are suggested to maintain a good political and economic with China. A qualitative method of case study of Uganda is also combined in this research to test if the model fits.

Signature Work Presentation Video