Preview

Navigating the Covid-19 Landscape: China’s Health Diplomacy Approach in Southeast Asia

https://doi.org/10.46272/IT.2024.22.2.77.8

Abstract

In the context of globalization and increasing severe disease outbreaks, global political attention to health issues has grown significantly. Consequently, health is transitioning from a peripheral or reactive issue to a more central position in foreign policy agendas. Major powers, including China, are increasingly leveraging health diplomacy as a strategic instrument. China’s health diplomacy initiatives extend globally, with a significant focus on Southeast Asia. This study critically examines China’s health diplomacy efforts in this region. It begins with an analytical overview of health diplomacy, elucidating the contextual factors behind its emergence and related terminological debates. The study then categorizes and scrutinizes specific health diplomacy measures undertaken by China in Southeast Asia. Finally, it analyzes recipient countries’ responses and evaluates the regional impact of China’s health diplomacy endeavors. The research reveals that China’s health diplomacy in Southeast Asia encompasses a wide range of activities, including participation in regional health mechanisms, provision of medical aid and supplies, and efforts to enhance healthcare capacity. While these initiatives have generally been received positively, particularly by countries with closer ties to China, concerns persist regarding the quality, timeliness, and potential political motives behind the assistance. The study concludes that despite some limitations, health diplomacy remains a crucial instrument in China’s strategy to consolidate its influence in Southeast Asia.

About the Authors

Phan To Uyen Vu
University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University; Academy of Politics Region III, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics
Viet Nam

Vu Phan To Uyen – PhD Candidate; Lecturer

Hanoi 100000

Da Nang 550000



Xuan Hiep Tran
Dong A University
Viet Nam

Tran Xuan Hiep – Prof., Dean, Graduate School

Da Nang 550000



References

1. Bourne P. (1978). A partnership for international health care. Public Health Reports. Vol. 93. No. 2. P. 114–123.

2. Chongsuvivatwong V., Phua K.H., Yap M.T., Pocock N.S., Hashim J.H., Chhem R., Wilopo S.A., Lopez A.D. (2011). Health and health-care systems in southeast Asia: diversity and transitions. Lancet. Vol. 377. No. 9763. P. 429–437. DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61507-3

3. Coker R.J., Hunter B.M., Rudge J.W., Liverani M., Hanvoravongchai P. (2011). Emerging infectious diseases in Southeast Asia: Regional challenges to control. Health in Southeast Asia. Vol. 377. No. 9765. P. 509–609. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(10)62004-1

4. Fazal T. (2020). Health Diplomacy in Pandemical Times. International Organization. Vol. 74. No. 1. P. 78–97. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818320000326

5. Feldbaum H., Michaud J. (2010). Health Diplomacy and the Enduring Relevance of Foreign Policy Interests. PLoS Medicine. Vol. 7. No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000226

6. Fidler D. (2013). Health diplomacy. In: A. Cooper, J. Heine, R. Thakur (eds) The Oxford handbook of modern diplomacy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. P. 691–707. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199588862.013.0039

7. Fauci A. (2007). The expanding global health agenda: a welcome development. Nature Medicine. Vol. 13. P. 1169–1171. https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1646

8. Frist W. (2007). Medicine as a currency for peace through global health diplomacy. Yale Law and Policy Review. Vol. 26. No. 1. P. 209–229.

9. Gauttam P., Singh B., Kaur J. (2020). COVID-19 and Chinese Global Health Diplomacy: Geopolitical Opportunity for China’s Hegemony? Millennial Asia. Vol. 11. No. 4. P. 318–340. https://doi.org/10.1177/0976399620959771

10. Held D. (2014). The diffusion of authority. In: T.G. Weiss, R. Wilkinson (eds) International organization and global governance. London: Routledge. P. 60–72. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315301914

11. Horton R. (2007). Health as an instrument of foreign policy. Lancet. Vol. 369. No. 9564. P 806–807. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60378-X

12. Inglehart J. (2004). Advocating for medical diplomacy: A conversation with Tommy G. Thompson. Health Affairs. Vol. 23. No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.w4.262

13. Jiahan C. (2020). Toward a Health Silk Road: China’s Proposal for Global Health Cooperation. China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies. Vol. 6. No. 1. P. 19–35. https://doi.org/10.1142/S2377740020500013

14. Jiyong J. (2008). 浅析公共卫生外交 [Brief Analysis of Public Health Diplomacy]. Journal of Diplomacy (China Foreign Affairs University Journal). No. 4. P. 82–88. DOI:CNKI:SUN:WJXY.0.2008-04-013

15. Kevany S. (2014). Global Health Diplomacy, ‘Smart Power’, and the New World Order. Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice. Vol. 9. No. 7. P. 787–807. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2014.921219

16. Kickbusch I. (2011). Global health diplomacy: How foreign policy can influence health. BMJ. Vol. 342. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d3154

17. Labonté R., Gagnon M. (2010). Framing health and foreign policy: lessons for global health diplomacy. Globalization and Health. Vol. 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-8603-6-14

18. Newton P., Dondorp A., Green M., Mayxay M., White N.J. (2003). Counterfeit artesunate antima larials in southeast Asia. The Lancet. Vol. 362. No. 9378. P. 169. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13872-X

19. Novotny T., Kickbusch I. (2008). Global Health Diplomacy: A Bridge to Innovative Collaborative Action. Global Update Forum for Health Research. Vol. 5. P. 41–51.

20. Rogozhina N. G. (2021). Masochnaya diplomatiya Kitaya v stranakh Yugo-Vostochnoy Azii [China’s mask diplomacy in Southeast Asian countries]. Southeast Asia: Current development issues. No. 1(50). P. 73–81. DOI 10.31696/2072-8271-2021-1-1-50-073-081

21. Ting C., Zhimin T. (2022). 我国公共卫生外交的历史脉络、演进特征及启示 [Historical background, evolutionary characteristics, and inspiration of China’s public health diplomacy]. Journal of Nanjing Medical University. No. 2. P. 120–125. http://dx.doi.org/10.7655/NYDXBSS20220204

22. Zhuravleva E.V. (2021). Meditsinskaya diplomatiya kak instrument politiki myagkoy sily KNR [Health Diplomacy as a Tool of China’s Soft Power Policy]. Kommunisticheskiy Kitay: tseli i zadachi k stoletnemu yubileyu KPK [Communist China: Goals and Tasks for the CPC Centennial Anniversary]. P. 224–239.

23. Zhu S., Zhu W., Qian W., He Y., Huang J. (2019). A China – Vietnam collaboration for public health care: a preliminary study. Global Health Research and Policy. Vol. 4. No. 23. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41256-019-0116-0


Review

For citations:


Vu P., Tran X. Navigating the Covid-19 Landscape: China’s Health Diplomacy Approach in Southeast Asia. International Trends / Mezhdunarodnye protsessy. 2024;22(2):179-199. https://doi.org/10.46272/IT.2024.22.2.77.8

Views: 453


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 1728-2756 (Print)
ISSN 1811-2773 (Online)