Taiwan’s Foreign Minister has said China is seeking political gains abroad in return for providing vaccines and other pandemic assistance, partly to increase pressure on Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory.
Beijing’s Communist Party leaders further exploited the pandemic to impose their political agenda on many others, Joseph Wu said.
In particular, China’s vaccine diplomacy is creating divisions among countries in Central and South America, giving Beijing an opportunity to exert its influence in the Western Hemisphere, Wu said. Beijing is providing access to its domestically produced vaccines, other anti-coronavirus resources and development funding to those who are willing to accept political partnership with Beijing, he said.
China then uses this partnership to lure or pressure those allies of Taiwan and the US to lean toward Beijing. Through these maneuverings, China is trying to gain political influence in the region at the cost of Taiwan and the US.
China says its overseas assistance comes without political conditions, but has aggressively used its economic might in recent years to poach Taiwan’s few remaining allies and erode the influence of the US and other democracies.