Editor's note: Stephen Ndegwa is a Nairobi-based communication expert, lecturer-scholar at the United States International University-Africa, author and international affairs columnist. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Increasing activity in the development of vaccines by China amid the unrelenting coronavirus has put the country in the saddle in the fight against the pandemic. In recent days, the country has recorded zero or near zero infections and fatalities, which definitely shows that it has subdued the coronavirus and is at least out of danger in the foreseeable future.

But China is not resting on its laurels and isolating itself from the coronavirus vagaries being experienced in many other countries and regions. The government is cognizant of the fact that no one is safe even if one of us is infected. For instance, the latest data released by the National Health Commission on Wednesday showed that the two new cases reported in the Chinese mainland were both imported from overseas.

In fact, it can be argued that a vaccine is not a priority for China as compared to other countries that still have high infection rates. As early as June 2020, China promised that it would make its COVID-19 vaccine a global public good when it is ready for use. Critically, vaccine development should focus on ensuring safety, effectiveness and accessibility.

Truthfully, China is now following up on its promise through what experts have termed as "vaccine diplomacy." Early this month, China donated 1.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Pakistan, the first country to receive this gesture. Of course, this cements the strong bond between these countries, with China being seen as walking the talk.

In the waiting list and current recipients of China's vaccine magnanimity include members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and African countries as well. As part of plans to enhance credibility in the process, Chinese vaccines will also be available through the World Health Organization's (WHO) COVAX facility which plans to deliver at least 1.3 billion coronavirus vaccines to 53 developing countries this year. 

But "vaccine diplomacy" is not to be mistaken with what cynics have previously maliciously referred to as debt diplomacy, which means the blackmailing of hapless debtors for undue benefits. The quest for universal vaccination is a genuine endeavor that seeks equity in realization of the fact that we are living in a community with a shared destiny.

Even as the WHO is expected to confirm the "not guilty" verdict regarding the origin of the coronavirus, particularly accusations that the virus escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China has not abrogated its role of helping to build a global community of health for all. 

In his opening address on Tuesday during the virtual China-Central and Eastern European Countries summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need for both partners to enhance joint response and experience sharing on prevention and treatment, explore cooperation on traditional medicine, and scale up public health and medical cooperation in the fight against the stubborn pandemic.

In his phone call to U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday, Xi pleaded with his counterpart to engage in cooperation rather than confrontation. "When China and the United States work together, they can accomplish a great deal for the good of both countries and the world at large; confrontation between the two countries, however, will definitely be disastrous for both countries and the world," the Chinese president said. Indeed, vaccine development and distribution worldwide would be an ideal place to start in attempts to rapprochement between the two greatest nations.

The Chinese government has also stated that it is not averse to the country's Big Pharma working with counterparts abroad in order to ramp up the development and production of vaccines in the race against the spread of the pandemic and the ensuing high demand for inoculation. Definitely, this kind of cooperation will reduce the logistics of producing and supplying the vaccines from a central source. The vaccination exercise will also have a much wider outreach. It is instructive that the WHO is discussing cooperation with Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developers.

Moreover, even countries with the wherewithal of producing their own vaccines might decide to cut to the chase and reproduce the ones that China has already fully developed and licensed. This kind of partnership will free up resources and the effort needed by countries to rebuild their battered economies due to the effects of the pandemic. 

COVID-19 has given China the opportunity to walk the talk in its appeal for a world with shared values where all members of the global community are taken as equals. It has also shown the need for projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, particularly in times of crisis. Such an infrastructural system will ease transport and communications on a global scale, overcoming barriers of time and space.

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