On March 5, 2021, CISS’s China Forum Expert TANG Xiaoyang joined a closed-door roundtable themed “Vaccine Diplomacy and the New World Order” held virtually by the UCLA Center for Middle East Development (CMED). Tang is an associate professor in the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University. The session was part of CMED’s conference series on “Current Challenges Facing the Middle East.”

The roundtable focused on the process and challenges of COVAX implementation, and on the roles of China, the US, Russia, and Europe in advancing global vaccine distribution as well as their respective strategic considerations and implications, with a particular focus on disparities in vaccine distribution among countries. For the Middle East, such disparities exist not only between it and outside states, but also within the region.

Although the US and Europe are focusing inoculations domestically at this stage, they are working to maximize vaccine production capacity, which is crucial to global vaccine supply. Russia has engaged in active vaccine diplomacy after its vaccine efficacy was recognized by studies in The Lancet. For developing countries, COVAX is the only way out of this pandemic, but the rollout is complex, slow and not without hurdles, said WHO experts.

In his remarks, Tang noted that vaccine cooperation between China and the Middle East began as early as late last year when the UAE, Jordan and Bahrain conducted phase III trials of a Chinese vaccine. China has pledged vaccine aid and export to dozens of countries, which is conducive to restoring international engagement and fixing inequitable vaccine distribution.

A champion of multilateral endeavors against COVID-19, China has joined COVAX with a commitment of 10 million vaccine doses. Its provision could further increase once its vaccine makers’ applications are approved by the WHO.