Alibaba Signs Vaccine Transport Contract with Ethiopian Airlines

China Launches Vaccine Diplomacy, Supplies COVID-19 Vaccines to Africa
US Pfizer and Moderna Criticize Code Chain Issues

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China has signed a transportation contract with an African airline company to transport the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine it is developing. This is interpreted as the Chinese government's intention to secure allies through vaccine diplomacy and not to fall behind in the vaccine war with the United States.

China's state-run Global Times reported on the 2nd that Alibaba's logistics subsidiary, Alibaba Cainiao Network, signed a vaccine logistics transportation contract with Ethiopian Airlines. Accordingly, China is expected to supply Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines to several African countries based in Ethiopia.

The Global Times explained that a Boeing 777 cargo plane operates twice a week. The media added that this cargo plane departs from Shenzhen Airport in Guangdong Province, China, stops over in Dubai, and then flies to Addis Ababa Airport in Ethiopia.

COVID-19 vaccine made in China (Photo by Global Times)

The media reported that the cargo plane is equipped with cold chain facilities, and a separate vaccine cold chain storage facility has also been established at Addis Ababa Airport.

The Global Times published a separate article on the same day stating that the vaccine developed by China is easier to manage and more cost-competitive than the American Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. It said that the Chinese vaccine is more suitable than American vaccines in regions with high average temperatures such as Africa and South America.

The Global Times explained that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based vaccines that must be stored at minus 70 degrees and minus 20 degrees Celsius, respectively. It said that the mRNA method is not only an uncommercialized vaccine manufacturing method but also has the problem of requiring ultra-low temperature storage.

In contrast, it emphasized that the Chinese vaccine is an inactivated vaccine whose safety has been confirmed. It stressed that the Chinese vaccine uses a method of inactivating the virus to eliminate toxicity before injecting it into the body, which is also used in various vaccines such as hepatitis A.

The media cited experts saying that medical staff in several African and South American countries are reluctant to administer mRNA vaccines because they have no experience dealing with mRNA side effects.

It added that Chinese pharmaceutical companies have currently received vaccine orders from more than 100 countries and that China will supply vaccines to Africa, BRICS, and Southeast Asian countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.