China is holding Brazil hostage
After President Bolsonaro criticized the CCP.
China’s “Vaccine Diplomacy”
is calculated terror.
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
The coronavirus has become the greatest weapon
of the Chinese Communist Party. That’s one reason I’ve been calling it the CCP Virus.
As I mentioned in the episode that came out a few days ago, there’s growing evidence the global
pandemic that killed millions worldwide accidentally leaked from a Chinese lab.
The Communist Party spent the crucial first 6 weeks of the outbreak covering it up.
They used that time to hoard medical supplies.
And now, the Chinese Communist Party is using vaccine diplomacy to further strongarm the
world, particularly in Latin America. The efficacy of Chinese vaccines is not high.
Especially compared to the other first-generation coronavirus vaccines.
But there aren’t yet enough high-quality American and European vaccines for every
country, so a lot of countries have no choice right now but to rely on Chinese vaccines.
According to Jason Marczak, director of the Latin American Center at the Atlantic Council
think tank, “From a public relations standpoint, China has sought to shift the narrative from
China being at the center of the Covid problem to China being at the center of the Covid solution.”
Which could very well be the greatest turnaround in history. After Superbowl
51—when the Patriots were down 28-3 going into the second half, and ended up winning it in overtime.
In other words, China’s strategy is to be Tom Brady.
Or more like Evil Tom Brady. Because China’s plan for a turnaround
involves *selectively* giving out vaccines—only to countries that do what Beijing wants.
Brazil is a great example.
Brazil has been wary of giving Chinese telecom company Huawei
access to the Brazilian market. You know, because of serious security concerns.
US Officials have said using Huawei technology opens the door to Chinese spying and censorship.
But with the Brazilian people suffering from the CCP Virus,
President Jair Bolsonaro felt he had no choice but to make a deal with China.
Back in January, in exchange for China speeding up the procedures that would give Brazil the vaccine,
Bolsonaro’s government signaled it would allow Huawei to bid
in the 5G auction later this year. The contract is worth around 30 billion US dollars.
So Bolsonaro had to accept a potential Chinese security threat
later, to stop a deadly Chinese virus now.
But it turns out, the deal also comes with censorship.
In May, President Bolsonaro seemingly criticized
China for taking advantage of the coronavirus for its own gain. He said, “It is a new virus,
nobody knows if it was born in a laboratory or by some human being that ate an inadequate animal.
But it is there. The military knows what chemical, bacteriological and radiologic war is.
Aren’t we facing a new war? Which country grew its GDP the most? I won’t tell you.”
He’s talking about China. Obviously. But come on, a new war? Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?
No. Because China does see it as war.
Not long after Bolsonaro’s comments, China stopped sending vaccine ingredients to Brazil.
Brazil uses those vaccine ingredients to make the final
vaccine that it distributes to its population.
But with China cutting these ingredients off,
it puts Brazil in a dangerous situation. Especially as Brazil’s Covid death toll spirals.
Only about 7% of Brazilians have been fully vaccinated. More than 420,000 Brazilians have
died. Again, from a disease the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for.
Possibly for a lab leak, and certainly for their 6-week coverup that allowed it to spread globally.
So the Communist Party is taking advantage of Brazil’s desperation for the vaccine. A rival
to Bolsonaro, São Paulo’s Governor João Doria, criticized Bolsonaro’s government saying, “How can
they attack those who supply us with raw materials and vaccines to save Brazil’s population?”
I bet China likes this guy. Maybe he could be the next president! Doria also said he spoke
with Brazil’s Chinese Ambassador who said, “[The Sinovac] raw material is ready and available
in refrigerated containers, just waiting for the authorization of the Chinese government.”
In other words, there is no shortage of ingredients for the Chinese vaccine.
The Chinese government is just sitting on it until Brazil begs.
And Governor Doria begged.
So after Doria met with Chinese officials, China released a new batch of vaccine supplies.
And this is how the Chinese government is forcing Brazil to play its game. With moves like that,
no wonder it can pull an Evil Tom Brady and win every Superbowl.
And this isn’t just happening in Brazil.
It’s happening all over Latin America.
“Latin American officials say China has pushed their countries to cut
ties with Taiwan in return for badly needed Covid-19 vaccines.”
Only a handful of countries in the world still recognize Taiwan as a country. China is trying
very hard to change that. Since 2017, three Latin American countries—Panama, Dominica,
and El Salvador—have broken ties with Taiwan in favor of China. That’s because “China has
invested in ports, roads, dams and railways, often offering loans to Latin American governments,
and made big purchases of minerals and agricultural commodities.”
But countries like Honduras and Paraguay, which still recognize Taiwan, don’t get all that nice
economic development. And guess which countries aren’t getting Chinese coronavirus vaccines now?
Unless of course, they cut ties with Taiwan.
Now keep in mind, China is not donating these vaccines. They’re selling them. Yeah,
when you get the world sick and then sell them a cure, you can make a lot of money.
And this is what’s at stake if the Chinese Communist Party
dominates global supply chains. It can hold the world hostage to its political demands.
And now is the time when I answer a question from one of our fans.
Normally, I take a question from our supporters on Patreon.
But today, I want to give a special thank you to the folks who watch our new
Portuguese channel. Yes, we have a Portuguese channel. The link is below.
And so today I’ll answer a question from one of our Portuguese-speaking
YouTube subscribers in Brazil.
Daniel H P Carvalho asks: “Hello Chris. In what ways do you think
Brazil can help in the fight against China? I know that China depends a lot on exports from Brazil
to feed its population. Could this dependency be useful for Brazil as a negotiation tool?”
Good question, Daniel.
China does depend on Brazil,
especially on soybeans. About three quarters of China’s soybean imports are from Brazil.
But that’s not good enough leverage for Brazil. The Chinese Communist
Party is always willing to endure short-term losses to punish others.
For example, a few years ago, after the trade dispute with President Trump,
China tried to punish American farmers by cutting off American soybean imports.
And then China increased imports from Brazil. In other words, Brazil is just a pawn to them.
The key to not being China’s pawn is to not play their game at all.
Brazil is a great country, and it was great before it started working with the Chinese
Communist Party. The key for Brazil is to build up its own manufacturing economy, and to work with
trusted allies—and gradually reduce dependence on China in all respects. If the Brazilian government
continues to deepen its relationship with China, Brazilians will become less and less free. You’re
already losing your freedom to Chinese-imposed censorship. And that’s just the beginning.
So the best way Brazilians can help
is to vote for politicians who will stand up to the Chinese Communist Party.
Thanks for your question, Daniel.
And thank you for watching. And please, tell everyone you know who speaks Portuguese to
check out our new Portuguese channel, run by my colleagues in Brazil. The link is below.
I’m Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching China Uncensored.