In a move signalling its assertiveness, Beijing has repeated an offer to vaccinate people from Taiwan against Covid-19, as the coronavirus continues to spread on the island. The Taiwan Affairs Office, Beijing’s main body for cross-strait affairs, has said that Taiwanese who fly to mainland China can voluntarily receive Covid-19 shots as long as they meet vaccination requirements and follow outbreak control measures. China had last month offered to send vaccines and pandemic specialists to Taiwan, which did not take up the offer.

In fact, an estimated 62,000 Taiwanese people had been vaccinated on the mainland as of May 31, although many Taiwanese are mainland residents, with 158,000 registering in the mainland’s latest census, published last month. But mainland Chinese vaccines have not received emergency-use approval in Taiwan.

And of course there is an India angle. Production plant for AstraZeneca’s vaccine in India, which was to supply Taiwan, had prioritised vaccines for domestic use to tackle Indian surge in infections. Last week, Taiwan received 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine that were donated by Japan. It is expecting the arrival of an additional 750,000 doses from the United States soon.

Is there a larger message somewhere here? Yes, China has emerged stronger after the pandemic while its Asian challengers have been weakened by the health crisis.