China Is Leveraging Its Vaccine Diplomacy Beyond Covid Shots

The pandemic made China the world’s top exporter of Covid-19 vaccines, mostly to nations that haven’t been able to afford or procure more effective ones from the U.S. and Europe. Now the country is using that newfound leverage to make an aggressive overseas push for its vaccines against other diseases such as Japanese encephalitis and pneumonia, competing with giants including Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co.

Studies have found the Chinese Covid shots to be less effective than some Western ones, such as the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna Inc., and there have been repeated questions about the transparency and data standards of its vaccine makers. Even so, developing nations that have had little access to other coronavirus vaccines are poised to grow more dependent on Chinese companies for shots against other ailments.