Vaccine Diplomacy and Beyond: New Trends in Chinese Image-Building in Africa

The paper analyzes China's public diplomacy in Africa, noting a transition from risk-averse protocols to the use of social media and 'humanized' diplomats. While the pandemic provided opportunities for 'vaccine diplomacy' and PPE donations, the mass eviction of African migrants in Guangzhou in 2020 triggered a significant backlash. The authors argue that despite experimenting with digital tools, China retreated to traditional, elite-focused diplomatic methods to mitigate the Guangzhou crisis, revealing a persistent preference for high-level engagement over genuine dialogue with African publics.

• China has shifted its diplomatic approach in Africa from risk-averse, scripted interactions to more personalized engagement, including the use of official Twitter accounts and ambassadors who cultivate spontaneous public personas.
• Chinese public diplomacy in Africa is increasingly hybridised with commercial activity, exemplified by the '10 000 Villages Project' where private satellite TV provider StarTimes worked with state actors to expand market share while ensuring the presence of Chinese state media in poor communities.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, China utilized 'vaccine diplomacy' and PPE donations to project an image of South-South solidarity, leveraging the logistics of Alibaba and Ethiopian Airlines to create powerful visual narratives of aid.
• The 'Guangzhou incident' of April 2020, involving the mass eviction of African migrants, created a severe public diplomacy crisis that triggered anti-Chinese backlash in Africa, particularly in Nigeria, and highlighted the volatility of social media.
• In response to the Guangzhou crisis, China retreated from innovative digital dialogue to 'old school' diplomatic tools, focusing on elite-level communication and state-media narratives to manage the image crisis.
• China's medical diplomacy, while generally successful since 1963, faced limits in Nigeria during the pandemic when the dispatch of Chinese medical personnel was met with nationalist backlash from local professionals.

APA

van Staden, C., & Wu, Y. S. (2021). Vaccine Diplomacy and Beyond: New Trends in Chinese Image-Building in Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Occasional-Paper-327-van-staden-wu.pdf

Chicago

van Staden, Cobus, and Yu Shan Wu. Vaccine Diplomacy and Beyond: New Trends in Chinese Image-Building in Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2021. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Occasional-Paper-327-van-staden-wu.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=van Staden |first1=Cobus |last2=Wu |first2=Yu Shan |title=Vaccine Diplomacy and Beyond: New Trends in Chinese Image-Building in Africa |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Occasional-Paper-327-van-staden-wu.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vanstaden2021vaccine, author = {van Staden, Cobus and Wu, Yu Shan}, title = {{Vaccine Diplomacy and Beyond: New Trends in Chinese Image-Building in Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Occasional-Paper-327-van-staden-wu.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }