P
olitics
Is China’s Covid - 19 Diplomacy Working in Southeast Asia? Prospects of Beijing’s Global Cooperation Can Ease its Neighbors’ Concerns Dingding Chen Many observers have discussed how China is using its Covid-19 medical aid as a means to improve its soft power, or even to exert geopolitical control overseas. A recent poll of Southeast
Asian states might suggest a more mixed picture: While most Southeast Asian countries acknowledged that their powerful neighbor has contributed the most to the region in coping with the pandemic, the very same poll also showed that China’s image has actually deteriorated in the re-
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05/03/21