Diplomatic Partnership Building and Transformation of China-Middle East Health Cooperation

Abstract

China’s foreign health cooperation has evolved from health aid to health partnership with the advent of global health diplomacy. Particularly since the start of the new era, China has planned forward in the area of health cooperation, strengthening the connections with its entire diplomatic approach and taking a more active part in the world health community. This paper examines the distinctions between conventional aid and health partnerships using the cooperation between China and the Middle East as an illustration. It also traces the development of the health partnership network between China and the Middle East through sectorial collaboration, humanistic exchanges, institutional building, and mutual policy appreciation. Using the two sides’ cooperation in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak as an example, it evaluates the effects of cooperation on regional health governance and diplomatic relations. It is considered that there has been a favorable contact between China and Middle Eastern nations in terms of health cooperation.

Keywords

• Global health diplomacy
• China
• diplomatic partnerships
• Middle East
• COVID-19