The Chinese government insists that politics play no part in its rapidly expanding global vaccine distribution campaign. But when you look at the maps as to where Chinese vaccine sales and donations are heaviest, it just so happens to be in regions that are among the most strategically important to Beijing: Southeast Asia, the Persian Gulf, and South America.

Rosie Wigmore in Beijing and Ovigwe Eguegu in Abuja, both policy analysts for the Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined, have been closely tracking the increasingly fraught politics related to vaccine distribution. They join Eric & Cobus to talk about their latest commentaries on the issue and what the key issues are in the months ahead.

SHOW NOTES:

• The Diplomat: 5 Reasons to Worry About the ‘Chinese Vaccine Diplomacy’ Narrative by Rosie Wigmore
• The China Africa Project: Will Chinese-Made COVID-19 Vaccines Find Acceptance in Nigeria? by Ovigwe Eguegu
• Verisk Maplecroft: China’s vaccine diplomacy in Africa unlikely to be a geopolitical game-changer by Alexandre Raymakers, Eric Humphery-Smith and Aleix Montana

ABOUT OVIGWE EGUEGU AND ROSIE WIGMORE:

Ovigwe is a Policy Advisor at Development Reimagined. His work includes research and consulting on the evolving nexus between geopolitics and development with particular reference to Africa, as well as providing expertise on regional trends, risks and scenarios for the public and private sector. He analyses Global System processes and structures, Global Order and the shifts of change to bring global events into valuable perspective and to provide expertise on geopolitical and geoeconomic due diligence as well as systemic risks. His work also covers the role of borders in development, with a special focus on integration, regionalisation, and questions of territory, security, statehood, and sovereignty in the pursuit of development.

Rosie is a Policy Analyst at Development Reimagined, an African-led international development consultancy based in Beijing. She is currently studying for a Masters in International Relations at Peking University and is an editor at the Peking Africa Think Tank.