3 June 2020, NIICE Commentary 5198
Jayshree Borah
President Xi Jinping, at the opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly, on 18 May 2020 has specifically urged for building a global health community through solidarity and co-operation. In his speech, Xi has mentioned multiple times the urgency of helping the developing countries, especially the African continent. While urging for international co-operation, Xi mentioned China is willing to take the responsibility of not only its own citizens but also of the global public health. This is also another way of adhering to the image of a responsible power holder, which after Robert Zullick’s 2005 comment on China to be a responsible power holder has been one of the primary focuses of China’s foreign policy goals. With COVID-19 and public endorsement of China by World Health Organization (WHO) has indeed helped China restore the image, which was in peril as the United States were actively forcing China to acknowledge the source of origin of the virus, as it was sprung in the Chinese city of Wuhan in early December. Now as Xi was invited to give a speech at the WHO Annual Health Assembly has not only provided China an opportunity to contend for south-south cooperation and gain solidarity from the developing countries, especially of Africa, but also integrate China more with International Organizations, and to prove China as a champion of multilateralism.
China’s integration with international organizations has started since China’s entry with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2003. Many scholars like Johnson and Kent have explored China’s possibility of compliance with the norms and rules of international organizations. A large question encompassed by the global community was whether China would be a norm taker or norm shaper. But that was more than a decade ago. While now scholars have almost agreed China’s socialization with the international organizations has been successful. Even though in some areas such as Responsibility to Protect (R2P), due to China’s adherence to the principle of non-intervention still questionable, scholars have seen China also as a norm contributor. However, with China’s building of its institutions such as Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), New Development Bank (NDB), and of course most glamorous the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, mostly the Western world started being skeptical of China’s participation at the global multilateral institutions. With the COVID-19, China’s already initiated Health Silk Road, which is supposed to run in correspondence to the multiple overland Silk Road corridors and the Maritime Silk Road has gained momentum. The document regarding Belt and Road Health Cooperation was signed by China, WHO, and other 30 countries. With COVID-19, it seems the process of building a health route has gained momentum again, as Xi has mentioned it in his conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Along with this line, China has offered medical help to more than 89 countries. Besides, an online forum regarding the Health Silk Route has taken place in April 2020. This, nevertheless, also raises the question of whether China will in the future try to build global health governance separate from the west lead institutions?
However, even though Health Silk Road has been a part of China’s COVID-19 related soft power diplomacy, which is also been termed as ‘Mask Diplomacy’, China seems to be showing its loyalty to the UN-led institutions and multilateralism. With the US President Trump’s statement of terminating its relationship with WHO and to cut funding has given the perfect opportunity to China to show its compliance to multilateralism more than ever. Not only Xi in his speech, but Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations also confirms China’s support for WHO’s leading role in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 20 April 2020, in a phone call with WHO director, mentions China safeguarding WHO means safeguarding multilateralism. Even though China is not a party of COVID-19 – Joint Declaration of the Alliance for Multilateralism signed by 30 countries on 16 April 2020, Xi, in his speech, repeatedly urged for strong global health governance under the leadership of WHO.
The other focus of Xi’s WHO speech was the global south, more specifically of Africa. He highlighted that China’s relation to global governance and south-south cooperation is based on the history of the Bandung conference, which China has not forgotten. Now, with the outbreak of this global pandemic, it is also an opportunity to strengthen up the base and gain confidence from its historic partners. Chinese foreign minister, while upholding its support for WHO, also made remarks on its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is of Ethiopian origin and shared the civilizational connection between China and Ethiopia.
Through the Health Silk Road, China has been already providing aid to African countries. On 6 April, almost 38 tons of Chinese medical supplies were sent to Ghana for distribution to West African states. Apart from that, teams of Chinese health professionals have been sent to Algeria, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria. Similarly, on 31 May, China promised to provide Africa with 30 million test kits per month, as well as 10000 ventilators and 80 million masks. Apart from that, Xi also announced to establish a cooperation mechanism for its hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals and accelerate the building of the Africa CDC headquarters to help the continent ramp up its disease preparedness and control capacity. Even though Beijing is driving with its responsibility to provide for the African partners, the occurrence of incidents like ill treatment of African migrants in Guangzhou has made the Chinese government put some extra effort to cover the blemishes. This is the first time China has witnessed a joint letter submitted by the African Ambassadors regarding how African immigrants have been treated in China. China’s call for support from developing countries echoes China as a major supporter of the global south; however, the bigger countries of the global south like Brazil and India are still suspicious about the quality of Chinese assistance. Hence, once again China’s focus has been mainly on the African continent in terms of winning its image back as a responsible global leader as well as benevolent power.
