Vaccine Diplomacy: How the U.S. Is Overtaking China and Russia
Vaccine Diplomacy: How the U.S. Is Overtaking China and Russia
The U.S. could not ignore the need to compete with China and Russia for global influence, especially in Latin America, said AS/COA's Eric Farnsworth to Univision.
On May 21, a Boeing 767 plane landed at San Salvador airport carrying a distinctly labeled cargo of 500,000 Chinese-made Sinovac covid vaccines.
China “would always be a friend and partner” of El Salvador, said China’s ambassador, Ou Jianhong, in a clear challenge to the United States, the tiny Central American country’s traditional ally.
To add insult to injury, the plane was emblazoned with the red, white and blue logo of the six-time Super-Bowl champions, New England Patriots…
While it was important to look after the health interests of Americans first, the U.S. could not ignore the need to compete with China and Russia in the race for global influence, especially in Latin America, said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas and Americas Society in Washington.
“China, and Russia, made big public relations splashes to show Latin America that…they were looking out for them and would put the interests of other countries ahead of their own citizens,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas and Americas Society in Washington.
“You can do that if you are an authoritarian country. You can treat your citizens differently in a quest for global influence. Democracies don’t have that luxury. They have to attend to its own citizens first, which is appropriate,” he added.
While the U.S. participation in the Covax program “makes great sense if you are being a good global partner, it makes no sense at all if you are trying to compete for hearts and minds,” Farnworth argued.
Instead, he suggested the U.S. should seek to direct more Covax supplies to Latin America…
