China is making it easier for foreigners to enter the country. But there’s one condition: they need to have received a China-made Covid-19 vaccine.
At least 23 Chinese embassies around the world issued new visa policies over the past week with this condition, including in the United States and United Kingdom — both places where Chinese vaccines aren’t available.
China’s foreign ministry says the move is about kick-starting international travel in an “orderly fashion,” and vaccinated travelers will still face state-run quarantine on arrival.
But experts have raised concerns over China’s decision to prioritize domestic vaccines over those approved by the World Health Organization, and with a higher efficacy rate.
They say it risks pressuring countries to approve Chinese vaccines and sets a dangerous precedent which, if adopted by other nations, could leave the world in vaccine-based silos.
It also raises practical issues — what options do people have if they live in countries which haven’t approved China-made vaccines?
“It’s very much at the sharp end of vaccine diplomacy,” said Nicholas Thomas, an associate professor in health security at the City University of Hong Kong. “(It’s) essentially saying if you want to visit us, you need to take our vaccine.”
