China providing vaccine aid to 80 countries, 3 int’l organizations: FM spokesperson

Abstract : China is providing vaccine aid to 80 countries and three international organizations, exporting vaccines to more than 40 countries, and cooperating with more than 10 nations in vaccine research, development and production, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

The
second batch of the Sinovac vaccines donated by China arrive in Manila,
the Philippines, on March 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

BEIJING,
March 30 (Xinhua) — China is providing vaccine aid to 80 countries and
three international organizations, exporting vaccines to more than 40
countries, and cooperating with more than 10 nations in vaccine
research, development and production, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson
said Tuesday.

Spokesperson
Hua Chunying made the remarks at a press briefing after World Health
Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Monday
against a widening gap between numbers of coronavirus vaccines in
wealthy countries and those distributed to poorer nations through the
global COVAX initiative.

According
to statistics, rich countries, which account for 16 percent of the
world population, now own 60 percent of the world’s vaccines. Several
rich developed countries have ordered two to three times as many
vaccines as their own populations, while poor developing countries now
do not have or have no access to Western vaccines, Hua noted.

Saying
vaccine is a powerful weapon against viruses and a hope to save lives,
Hua added it should serve the whole world and benefit all mankind. China
took the lead in promising vaccines as global public goods and striving
to improve the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in
developing countries.

China
has joined COVAX and made a clear commitment to provide an initial 10
million doses of vaccine to meet urgent needs in developing countries,
she added.

China
has also responded to the call of the United Nations to donate vaccines
to peacekeepers from all over the world, Hua said. “We are also willing
to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee to provide
vaccines to athletes preparing to participate in the Olympic Games.”

China
opposes the immoral and irresponsible behavior of “vaccine nationalism”
and creating “immunity gap”, Hua said. “We also call on all countries
with the ability to do their best to provide vaccines to countries in
need, especially developing nations, so that people of all countries can
afford them.”

About Xinhua Silk Road

Xinhua Silk Road (en.imsilkroad.com) is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) portal.China’s silk road economic belt and the 21st century maritime silk road website,includes BRI Policy, BRI Trade, BRI Investment, Belt and Road weekly, Know Belt and Road, and the integrated information services for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Source: China providing vaccine aid to 80 countries, 3 int’l organizations: FM spokesperson