CHINA READY TO BOOST GLOBAL COVID-19 VACCINE COOPERATION, XI JINPING SAYS

Sat 21 November 2020:

President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that China is ready to step up global COVID-19 vaccine cooperation, and called for better international coordination on policies to facilitate movement of people.

Pharmaceutical companies and research centers around the world are working on potential COVID-19 vaccines, with large global trials of several of the candidates involving tens of thousands of participants underway. China has five home-grown candidates undergoing Phase III trials.

“We will fulfill our commitments, offer help and support to other developing countries, and work hard to make vaccines a public good that citizens of all countries can use and can afford,” he said.

He also called for stronger international policy coordination to establish travel “fast tracks” that would facilitate orderly global movement.

With that in mind, Xi said China would propose the creation of a mechanism by which travelers’ coronavirus test results were recognized internationally through digital health codes.