National security officials are concerned China will develop a coronavirus vaccine first and try to extort the world for access

The United States and China are locked in a race to develop a coronavirus vaccine as fears mount that the latter country would use its success in developing one as economic and diplomatic leverage.    

As countries across the globe coordinate to create a vaccine for COVID-19, which has sickened more than 3.3 million people worldwide, the US and China have stuck with a nationalized approach. 

'They know that whoever finds a workable vaccine right now basically rules the world,' a national security official told Politico on condition of anonymity. 

The outlet published a report about the so-called vaccine war on Sunday, which describes how national security officials and public health experts are increasingly concerned about the prospect of China developing a vaccine first.  

Doing so would not only prove invaluable for the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda efforts, but would also give the nation immense leverage in the global community, experts warn. 

'Often, Chinese offers of aid come with strings attached,' Matt Kroenig, a former Pentagon and CIA official who recently released a book examining American power competition with China, told Politico.   

'So they could use it as a way to try to increase their influence and further push out the US.'  

+5

National security officials and public health experts are said to be increasingly concerned about the prospect of China becoming the first nation to develop an effective coronavirus vaccine because it could use it as economic and diplomatic leverage. Pictured: Chinese researchers work on an experimental vaccine at a laboratory in Beijing 

The stakes are especially high for the Chinese government as it seeks to repair its reputation amid allegations that it covered up the origins and severity of the outbreak late last year.  

One national security official acknowledged that 'China does have a head start' in the global effort to develop a vaccine.

But the official added: 'They also have a pattern of theft and trying to steal everyone else's research. So you would think they'd be very benevolent [with the vaccine] so as not to be seen as a pariah.'

Politico pointed to a spike in hacking attempts on US hospitals and labs, which intelligence and national officials attributed primarily to China, as a sign of the country's desperation. 

For example, being able to vaccinate its own population first would serve as a strong 'economic rudder' for China by allowing it to fully open its economy to global companies, Dr Ross McKinney Jr, the chief scientific officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges, told Politico.In addition to providing diplomatic leverage, creating a vaccine first would have substantial economic implications.  

Kroenig emphasized that there is still a question of whether the world would even trust a vaccine produced by China - pointing to the recent episodes of it delivering faulty medical equipment to Europe.    

'One of the great advantages the US has in this competition is that we have these 30 formal treaty allies with leading scientific research communities,' Kroenig said.

'So we could and should be doing a much better job of galvanizing allies and bringing them together [on the vaccine issue].' 

+5

Research Associate Parsa Parirokh, of RNA medicines company Arcturus Therapeutics, conducts research on a COVID-19 vaccine at a lab in San Diego, California, on March 17

China claims first Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by September

Loaded: 0%

Progress: 0%

0:00

Previous

Play

Skip

Mute

Current Time0:00

/

Duration Time1:34

Fullscreen

Need Text

The Politico report noted that American and Chinese scientists have actually been working together on COVID-19 research, even as the feud between their governments escalates.  

McKinney said that the collaboration can be positive 'as long as the information flows both ways'. 

But, he claimed, that has not always been the case.  

'There is some asymmetry going on with regard to the research efforts that I think is the worry,' McKinney said.  

President Donald Trump appeared at a virtual town hall meeting hosted by Fox News on Sunday and said he is confident that the US will have a vaccine by the end of this year. 

He also addressed the global race to create a vaccine, insisting that the US is working with other countries including the United Kingdom and Australia. 

Asked whether 'another country could beat us', Trump said: 'I don't care. I just want to get a vaccine that works. I really don't care. If it's another country, I'll take my hat off to them. We have to come up with a vaccine.'   

+5

President Donald Trump appeared at a virtual town hall meeting hosted by Fox News on Sunday and said that he 'doesn't care' which country is first to produce a COVID-19 vaccine

It's unclear if his comments had anything to do with the Politico report, which contended that the Trump administration has shown little interest in cooperating in multi-national efforts to fight COVID-19.  

Last month, the US declined to join a virtual meeting called by the World Health Organization where global leaders committed to distributing a future coronavirus vaccine in an internationally equitable way. 

On Monday, the European Union is hosting a meeting for countries to pledge funding and research into COVID-19 vaccines and treatments - but the US is not expected to attend that either.   

'The Trump administration's apparent lack of interest in cooperation has alarmed global health officials and diplomats as they seek to end a pandemic that has disabled economies and killed more than 240,000 people worldwide,' Politico's Nahal Toosi and Natasha Bertrand wrote.  

'The fear is that Trump will be content with allowing the race to develop and distribute the vaccine to devolve into a global contest - and that poorer countries will be left behind in the rush to procure doses. 

'In essence: that the president's "America First" view of world affairs as an atavistic scramble for power will lead to unnecessary suffering and death.'