China Gears Up Production of Medical Equipment To Help India

In the face of the second and deadly wave of Covid in India, China is gearing up production of medical supplies to help its neighbor. Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma has been working overtime during the May Day holiday to produce and pack oxygen generators for supplying India. Zhengzhou Olive Electronic Technology Company is adding a new production line and more workers to produce oxygen generators. The WHO approval of China’s Sinopharm vaccine will help increase the supply of the Chinese vaccine to the rest of the world. In the United States President Biden’s U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has said that Washington would lift patent restrictions to produce Pfizer vaccines in other countries. While it is a worthwhile initiative, which still has to clear Congress, it is also an attempt to undercut reliance on China’s vaccines worldwide. The U.S. vaccine is expected to gain traction with Quad partner India, undoubtedly a major consideration by the Biden administration in its own attempt to get a lead in the “vaccine diplomacy” and prevent any closer ties between these two Asian giants. As a result of the U.S. decision, stocks in Fosun have fallen on the Hong Kong markets.