China's billionth vaccination dose: A big step forward

No milestone more perfectly captures China's global leadership on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic than the news that the country just administered its billionth vaccine dose. China has been pioneering the ideal way for the international community to confront the pandemic, first through its properly executed and timely lockdowns and now through the latest development in its nationwide vaccination program.

None of this could have happened in the world's most populous country had it not been for the management of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

All of this is important for the entire international community. Firstly, China's latest vaccination milestone will help ensure the world's epidemiological security against forthcoming waves of the virus. Expanding upon that, this achievement was only possible because of the trust that the Chinese people have in their authorities, which contrasts with the palpable skepticism prevalent in Western societies. The CPC is running a very convincing public awareness campaign explaining the benefits of vaccination. It also doesn't tolerate anyone spreading disinformation about COVID-19 or the country's vaccines.

Speaking of which, the second point is that Sinopharm and Sinovac produced very safe vaccines. China would know this better than anyone else after administering over a billion such doses. This fact contradicts the fake news that some have propagated about these treatments. Hopefully, the rest of the world will realize that those claims were false and thus be more eager to receive these vaccines. After all, if there was any truth to them, then COVID-19 would still be out of control in China like it regrettably still is in some other countries. It isn't, though, which speaks to these vaccines' effectiveness and safety.

Thirdly, the success of China's historically unprecedented vaccination campaign confirms the CPC's leadership qualities. Some foreign forces have tried to discredit the party over the past few years, but these efforts were always for naught and are doomed to remain as such. The entire world can now see that the CPC is capable of quickly administering over a billion vaccination doses, which shouldn't have surprised any objective observers who could have expected this considering how well the party manages the country in general, especially economically.

A signage of Sinopharm is seen at the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, China, September 5, 2020. /Reuters

The fourth point is that the CPC can share its vaccination experience with all of the country's partners upon their request in order to improve the effectiveness of their own vaccination campaigns as well. This would build upon China's epidemiological security success and expand it across the entire world, thereby greatly reducing the time that it takes to defeat COVID-19 and return the world back to normal. Since China is the world's largest developing country and prioritizes engagement with its developmental peers, Beijing will be doing a service to humanity by helping to defeat the virus in some of the world's Global South nations which are greatly in need.

And finally, the fifth point is that all of this shows that China is leading the world in response to COVID-19, which symbolizes its newfound global leadership in general. China is aware of its responsibilities to the international community and never shies away from them. It's successfully tackled some of the most difficult tasks, such as eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring sustainable economic development for its citizens. Confronting COVID-19 is, therefore, just the latest example of the trend wherein China challenges itself to do what many might have previously regarded as impossible for the sake of the world.

Everyone can learn from the Chinese model for containing COVID-19. Strict lockdowns work if properly managed with adequate economic and social support for the affected citizens. Mass vaccinations are the second part of the solution, but this can only succeed if the people truly trust in their authorities and the vaccines on offer, like they do in China. Nevertheless, China can share its experience in this respect in order to help its partners defeat COVID-19.

By Andrew Korybko (Moscow-based American political analyst)