Why China's vaccine diplomacy shouldn't be a high-profile charm offensive
If soft power rankings are any indication, China's efforts in adding to the global public good have achieved mixed results in recent years. Last year, it came 27th out of 30 nations in the Soft Power 30 index published by the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy and Portland Communications.
In a recent commentary for Bloomberg, Hal Brands, the Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, pointed to academic work suggesting that the US still has an edge over China, including on soft power - although this does not mean Washington can rest on its laurels.
Monocle, the global affairs and lifestyle magazine, ranked Germany, South Korea, France, Japan and Taiwan in the top five positions in its soft power index in its current edition. China was conspicuously absent.
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The London-based publication said even though China's economic might has helped it in building influence around the world, the country did not make the list as "distrust of its government and concern over the consistent bullying of its neighbours has translated into a very precarious kind of soft power."
Beijing's ongoing vaccine diplomacy to developing countries should take this disparity into account. These rankings and perceptions show that Beijing's efforts to provide impetus to global economic growth through the Belt and Road Initiative and its greater participation in global climate and energy discussions have been negated by the perception that it is using its economic clout as a tool of coercion.
Even its efforts to ramp up its role in the World Health Organization while recasting itself as a responsible global health leader through the promotion of the Health Silk Road, which is aimed at improving public health in belt and road countries, have not given it a boost.
Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines have already been shipped to Indonesia, and more are making their way to countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia in the days ahead.
Instead of brandishing this as yet another global charm offensive under the banner of being a "responsible great power", China should conduct its latest health diplomacy in a low-key manner.
Surely Beijing has not forgotten the backlash earlier this year when defective Chinese-made medical equipment was rejected by coronavirus-hit countries, never mind the fact that the flawed gear was sold by Chinese private companies for profit.
Attempts to provide rapid Covid-19 testing kits were also met with resistance after countries such as the Philippines, Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands claimed that they were substandard and yielded inaccurate results.
In the case of masks and filters, some did not work as intended even though they came with quality certificates.
The public relations disaster generated worldwide by these incidents may also partly explain why China appears unable to boost its soft power ranking this year.
Given that Covid-19 vaccines fall under a new frontier in public health where their effectiveness and possible side effects are still unclear, Beijing should refrain from dishing out the vaccines like it did previously - with smiling diplomats handing over supplies emblazoned with the Chinese flag while extolling the virtues of enduring friendship with these countries.
After all, the politics of generosity - a term coined by EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell earlier this year - could backfire once again, and also further dent Beijing's efforts in strengthening its soft power.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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