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