The Diplomat published on 24 March 2021 an analysis titled "The Logic of China's Vaccine Diplomacy" by Ivana Karaskova and Veronika Blablova, both at the Association for International Affairs in Prague.
The article underscores the exceedingly modest vaccine contributions that China has made to Africa. Except for large purchases of Chinese vaccine by Egypt and Morocco and a smaller one by Zimbabwe, China has made small donations to a number of African countries, predominantly distributed through the COVAX initiative, an international effort led by the World Health Organization. China has engaged in a major publicity campaign whenever it makes a small contribution in Africa.
By contrast, the United States has not delivered any vaccine to Africa but is by far the largest financial backer of COVAX. It has delivered about $2.5 billion to COVAX and pledged a total of $4 billion so far. Organizations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have provided many millions more. COVAX has the funding, but is woefully short of vaccine to deliver around the world. This situation should change in the coming months as global supply improves.
