Xi says China has honored its commitment to helping world fight COVID-19

President Rajapaksa accepting Sinopharm vaccines from Chinese ambassador

Xinhua:China has honored its commitment and carried out large-scale global humanitarian actions to help the world fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Friday.

Xi made the remarks while delivering a speech at the Global Health Summit via video in Beijing.

Notwithstanding the limited production capacity and enormous demand at home, China has honored its commitment by providing free vaccines to more than 80 developing countries in urgent need and exporting vaccines to 43 countries, Xi said.

“We have provided 2 billion U.S. dollars in assistance for the COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in developing countries hit by the pandemic,” Xi said.

China has sent medical supplies to more than 150 countries and 13 international organizations, and provided more than 280 billion masks, 3.4 billion protective suits and 4 billion testing kits to the world, Xi said.

A cooperation mechanism has been established for Chinese hospitals to pair up with 41 African hospitals, and construction for the China-assisted project of the Africa CDC headquarters officially started at the end of last year, Xi noted.

He added that important progress has also been made in the China-UN joint project to set up in China a global humanitarian response depot and hub.

“China is fully implementing the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative for Poorest Countries and has so far put off debt repayment exceeding 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, the highest deferral amount among G20 members,” Xi said.

In continued support for global solidarity against COVID-19, Xi announced the following:

– China will provide an additional 3 billion US dollars in international aid over the next three years to support COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in other developing countries.

– Having already supplied 300 million doses of vaccines to the world, China will provide still more vaccines to the best of its ability.

– China supports its vaccine companies in transferring technologies to other developing countries and carrying out joint production with them.

– Having announced support for waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, China also supports the World Trade Organization and other international institutions in making an early decision on this matter.

– China proposes setting up an international forum on vaccine cooperation for vaccine-developing and producing countries, companies and other stakeholders to explore ways of promoting fair and equitable distribution of vaccines around the world.