As encouraging news has poured in recently regarding the success of various coronavirus vaccines, recent reports indicate a COVID-19 vaccine developed in China is one of several to show promise. And beyond the clear public health benefit provided by a successful vaccine, Beijing is looking to employ a strategy of “vaccine diplomacy” to boost its international clout — including with Middle Eastern countries.

While a number of vaccines are under development in China, four of these have entered late-stage testing in clinical trials. This accounts for roughly one-third of leading COVID-19 vaccines in the final stage of development globally.

As the rate of new cases fell drastically on the domestic front, the majority of mass-scale vaccine potency and safety testing for Chinese developers is being carried out in 18 other countries. And interestingly, most of them hold strategic interest for Beijing or are part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Several Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain are also participating in these trials. With promises of early access to vaccine doses, most of the governments hosting testing programs have agreements allowing vaccine purchase on a mass scale or manufacturing rights for widespread distribution locally.