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BEIJING, May 22, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

China on Friday announced several new measures to help developing countries

tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and its sweeping impacts, pledging to contribute

$3 billion in the next three years and provide more vaccines.

Addressing the Global Health Summit via video link, Chinese President Xi

Jinping urged the world's leading economies to remedy deficiencies, close

loopholes and strengthen weak links in fighting "the most serious pandemic in a

century."

The summit was co-hosted by the European Commission and Italy, chair of the

Group of 20 (G20) this year.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has surpassed 165 million,

with more than 3.4 million deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins

University.

'Close the immunization gap'

"A year ago, I proposed that vaccines should be made a global public good," Xi

said. "Today, the problem of uneven vaccination has become more acute."

More than 1.1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally,

but over 80 percent of those were administered in high and upper-middle income

countries, with just 0.3 percent of inoculations taking place in low-income

countries, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health

Organization (WHO), said earlier this month.

China has supplied 300 million doses of vaccines to the world; it has provided

free vaccines to more than 80 developing countries in urgent need and exported

vaccines to 43 countries, Xi noted, adding that China will provide 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, he said.

Reaffirming China's support for waiving intellectual property rights on

COVID-19 vaccines, he said the country "supports the World Trade Organization

and other international institutions in making an early decision on this

matter."

He raised a proposal for setting up an international forum on vaccine

cooperation to promote fair and equitable distribution of vaccines around the

world.

"We must uphold fairness and equity as we strive to close the immunization

gap," Xi stressed. "It is imperative for us to reject vaccine nationalism and

find solutions to issues concerning the production capacity and distribution of

vaccines, in order to make vaccines more accessible and affordable in

developing countries."

More financial support

China has already provided $2 billion to help with developing countries'

responses to COVID-19; it has sent medical supplies to more than 150 countries

and 13 international organizations, providing more than 280 billion masks, 3.4

billion protective suits and four billion testing kits to the world, according

to Xi.

"China will provide an additional $3 billion in international aid over the next

three years to support COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in

other developing countries," he announced.

Xi, the leader of the world's largest developing country, mentioned "developing

countries" 11 times in a speech that lasted less than seven minutes, calling on

G20 members to do more to help them and address their concerns.

"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,

the highest deferral amount among G20 members," he said.

It is essential that G20 members continue to support developing countries by

such means as debt suspension and development aid, said the Chinese president.

Xi went further to call for improvement in the global governance system. G20

countries should strengthen and leverage the role of the United Nations and the

WHO and improve the global disease prevention and control system, the Chinese

president said.

"It is important that we uphold the spirit of extensive consultation, joint

contribution and shared benefits, fully heed the views of developing countries,

and better reflect their legitimate concerns," he added.

Xi repeated his call for solidarity and cooperation in fighting COVID-19 and

building a global community of health for all.

"The pandemic is yet another reminder that we, humanity, rise and fall together

with a shared future," he said. "We must champion the vision of building a

global community of health for all, tide over this trying time through

solidarity and cooperation, and firmly reject any attempt to politicize, label

or stigmatize the virus."

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-05-21/China-makes-new-pledges-to-help-developing-countries-defeat-COVID-19-10rWrYN7HGg/index.html

Source: CGTN