Chinese-russian diplomatic healthcare relations during the new coronavirus infection (COVID-2019)

Abstract

This article analyzes Chinese-Russian healthcare diplomacy. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that with the advent of globalization, cooperation between countries is increasing, and the strengthening of diplomatic relations becomes especially important. The status of diplomacy in state strategy is growing and the integration of different social spheres is gradually taking place. Thus, various forms of diplomacy, such as cultural, economic, and military ones, are emerging. At first, global healthcare diplomacy was not a priority for research in the field of diplomacy. Nevertheless, since the 21st century, SARS, Ebola virus, avian influenza, and the new coronavirus pneumonia have brought public health issues to the top of the political agenda in various countries, making the international community invest considerable effort and resources in providing medical treatment. And it brought global healthcare diplomacy to people's attention. The article shows the relationship between the concepts of “diplomacy” and “healthcare”, gives a brief overview of the main definitions of “healthcare diplomacy”, reviews the history of healthcare diplomacy in China and in Russia, its features and the main international treaties. The article substantiates the need for healthcare diplomacy between China and Russia, examines the implementation of medical diplomacy between the two countries and the particular measures taken by the governments before and after the outbreak of coronavirus pneumonia, describes the process of the struggle with the epidemic in the two countries, defines the prospects for cooperation between China and Russia in the field of healthcare diplomacy, notes that both countries can reveal their potential in such relations as basic norms, effective early warning and joint emergency response mechanisms, traditional Chinese medicine, scientific technology and medical education.