China to further contribute to ending COVID-19 pandemic

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to work with other countries to make contributions to bridging the COVID-19 immunization gap and putting an end to the pandemic at an early date, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular press briefing that China welcomes all efforts that help members of the international community fight COVID-19 together in a science-based manner, and opposes political manipulation of anti-epidemic efforts by any country.

In the wake of COVID-19, China proposed the vision of a global community of health for all, fully leveraged its strengths, ensured the stability of global anti-epidemic supply chains, and actively advanced international cooperation in vaccines to contribute to the global fight against the coronavirus, he said.

By early May, China has provided 4.6 billion protective suits, 18 billion testing kits, and over 430 billion facial masks to 153 countries and 15 international organizations.

China was the first country that has announced to make vaccines a global public good, supported waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, and conducted joint production of vaccines with developing countries, Zhao said, adding China has so far supplied more than 2.2 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations.

"China is making important contributions to promoting the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries," he added.