Chinese and Indian Vaccine Diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific

Shiming Yang is a PhD candidate in political science and international relations at the University of Southern California. She studies global environmental politics with an emphasis on developing countries and is currently working on a research project “Varieties of Vaccine Diplomacy: How Rising Powers Engage with the Game of Health Diplomacy and Their Implications for Global Governance.”

Alison Szlawinski is Vice President of Research at NBR. She provides executive leadership to NBR’s policy research agenda and oversees research teams in Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Podcast Timestamps

00:12 Introduction

01:00 Can you tell us about your research on rising powers and vaccine diplomacy?

02:25 Could you describe the different approaches that India and China are taking to vaccine diplomacy?

06:30 In what ways are the Chinese and Indian approaches competitive? Are there other ways in which they are complementary?

09:18 What are some of the regional implications of the competition you described in the provision of public goods?

11:35 Are there risks for these countries if the vaccines don’t perform as expected?

14:15 Given the role of India in vaccine production and distribution, how does the very dire health situation in India affect the global vaccination effort?

16:15 To what extent has the United States conducted vaccine diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific? What role has the Quad played?

19:15 Is there anything else from your essay, recent research, or developments in the news related to vaccine diplomacy that you would like to share with our listeners?

This podcast was recorded on May 10, 2021.

This podcast was produced by the National Bureau of Asian Research with support from the Henry Luce Foundation.