Health Silk Road: A Chinese Tool towards Global Governance?

ABSTRACT

Inserted in its strategy of Belt and Road Initiative, People's Republic of China (PRC) has been implementing some actions and programmes in health sector, leading to what is known as the Health Silk Road. Starting from internal healthcare reforms in the last three decades - aiming to achieve universal health coverage and a good network of primary care services - PRC is defining its strategy in order to be a relevant player in global health governance. Methodologically based on a literature review and a content analysis, this paper intends to shed light on several topics, such as (i) the purposes of Health Silk Road - is it a way of reinforcing Chinese position in global order through health governance? (ii) PRC's management of the crisis caused by pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2 - can the Chinese approach to fight the virus be applied as a role model worldwide? These parameters will be framed in the context of geopolitics, soft power and global governance looking at provisional trends for medium-term future.