Features of China's humanitarian aid in the field of healthcare

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Abstract

The article is dedicated to a comprehensive analysis of the characteristics of humanitarian assistance from the People's Republic of China in the field of healthcare. The focus is on the historical evolution of the Chinese model of humanitarian support, its institutional mechanisms, key directions, and practical forms of medical assistance to foreign states. Special attention is given to such tools as the deployment of medical teams, the construction of hospital infrastructure, the training of medical personnel, the supply of medicines and equipment, as well as the fight against infectious diseases—primarily malaria. A separate section examines the enhancement of China's role during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the country became one of the largest suppliers of emergency medical support to the world. The research reveals the specificity of the Chinese humanitarian approach, based on the principles of equality, practicality, and the absence of political conditions, and analyzes its impact on the global health system and international cooperation. The methodological framework of the study consists of systemic and institutional approaches, comparative analysis methods, as well as the theory of complex interdependence, which is applied to interpret the evolution of China's humanitarian policy in the healthcare sector. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the holistic consideration of Chinese humanitarian assistance in healthcare as a multi-level system that combines historical heritage, modern institutional mechanisms, and strategic foreign policy goals. For the first time, traditional directions of medical cooperation from China are compared with new formats that emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The research demonstrates that China's humanitarian medical activities have gone beyond regional support and transformed into a global tool for enhancing the country's international authority, as well as a significant resource for the development of Global South countries. It concludes that the features of the Chinese model—an orientation towards practical returns, long-term infrastructure projects, and comprehensive support for healthcare systems—enhance Beijing's contribution to the formation of a new architecture of global health and increase its role as a significant humanitarian actor.

About the authors

Shuangshuang Qiu

Email: shuan1299@mail.ru

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