ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – A new cavernous airport in the Ethiopian capital is at the heart of a vast supply network China is gathering to accelerate the delivery of its coronavirus vaccines – and deepen its impact worldwide under development.
At one end is a football field-size freezer to store filters from Chinese state-controlled drug companies. At the other end is a control room with a wall of computer monitors where Chinese and Ethiopian technicians monitor the temperature of each batch.
This week, more than a million doses of new Covid-19 inoculations will move into China, here, according to Ethiopian Airlines officials. Thousands of doses have already gone through, they and Ugandan officials said. Further delivery is expected through a partnership between Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Ethiopian Airlines, officials at the state-owned airline said.
Involved is a potential soft power award: the goodwill of politicians and people around the developing world who need Covid vaccines at a low price, and the status to be seen as a country with potential to be the protector of global public health.
For months, the Chinese government, state enterprises and private companies have laid the foundation for pushing vaccines from Africa to the Middle East and Latin America. They have put together a series of chains that control temperature from the manufacturing site through all stages of the distribution – as well as the “Health Silk Road,” as Beijing calls it.