China hopes ‘vaccine diplomacy’ will restore its image and boost its influence

Trading allies such as Brazil are at the head of the queue for Beijing's huge drug distribution programme

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There was no VIP on board the plane from China that arrived in Sao Paulo airport earlier this month, but the state governor, Joao Doria, nonetheless led a high-level welcome delegation gathered on the tarmac.

The masked dignitaries were there to mark the arrival of seven refrigerated containers of vaccines, posing for official photos with tiny vials that Doria hopes will end or at least slow the ravages of Covid-19 in the state he runs.