China’s “weaponized” vaccine: intertwining between international and domestic politics

Ever since China has formally joined the WHO-backed global COVID-19 vac- cine initiative known as COVAX, there is a presumed notion that China’s vaccine diplomacy will make a significant contribution to the international public good and thus uplift Beijing’s role as the rule-maker of international order. To scrutinize this, the paper asks if China succeeded in proliferating its weaponized vaccine policy to obtain maximum diplomatic gains and soft power projection to intensify its inter- national image, geopolitical power, and domestic politico legitimacy. The authors argue that despite its vaccine diplomacy demonstrated the robust governance capac- ity and responsibility to be a great power. Yet, Beijing’s geopolitical influence and international image are significantly overrated and not enough to play a more promi- nent role in the global power fulcrum/equilibrium. On the contrary, China enjoys a leading position on the domestic political front. Its successful portrayal of China’s vaccine provision in the global market and remarkable configuration to leverage a deep-rooted nationalism has fundamentally provided China with a powerful ration- ale to divert its public’s attention from Beijing’s earlier inadequate handling of the outbreak. The evaluation of the paper reveals that China’s vaccine diplomacy’s influ- ence in promoting international image and geopolitics is limited but has successfully stabilized its domestic political environment and enhanced its domestic legitimacy.