Qian Naicheng, Ambassador of China to Turkmenistan
- The world today is still in the grip of the COVID pandemic. As the virus continues to mutate and wreak havoc, putting it under control remains our top priority. In the battle, vaccines are of vital importance. They should be distributed around the world fairly and equitably with no country and no one left behind. They should truly serve as people’s vaccines. This is essential for defeating the virus. It is also a matter of international justice.
- Committed to building a global community of health for all, China is providing vaccines to the world, particularly fellow developing countries, and is actively advancing cooperation on vaccine production. This is in line with China’s commitment to making COVID-19 vaccines a global public good. China will continue to do its best to help other developing countries cope with the virus.
- China advocates putting life first and promoting vaccine accessibility around the world. COVID-19 vaccination is the largest effort of this kind in human history. People’s life and health must always be our first priority, and they must not be preceded by economic, political or other interests. Vaccines are first and foremost a global public good. We must ensure they remain so and reject rising vaccine nationalism. They are to be used as weapon to save lives, not a means by any country for selfish gains, still less a tool for geopolitical rivalry.
- China advocates upholding justice and stepping up support to developing countries. Three deficits need to be addressed. Firstly, the production deficit. While ramping up total supply, producing countries should also support developing countries through technology transfer and joint production, and safeguard the global supply chain of raw materials. Secondly, the distribution deficit. Vaccines should be shared with greater intensity and speed to make them accessible and affordable for developing countries as quickly as possible, especially the least developed countries. Thirdly, the cooperation deficit. This requires greater solidarity and sense of responsibility, and full mobilization of governments, businesses and international organizations, so as to form synergy.
- China advocates practicing multilateralism and making international cooperation more effective. Coronavirus vaccination is like a touchstone of true multilateralism. The COVAX Facility needs to function with greater efficiency and transparency to deliver vaccines in greater numbers and more quickly.
- China advocates strengthening coordination and building multi-tiered defense. While continuing to educate the public, strengthen their confidence and speed up vaccination, countries should continue to coordinate pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions, targeted routine measures and emergency response, and pandemic control and socioeconomic development.
- China acted quickly to provide vaccines to fellow developing countries in need. Although China’s vaccine production capacity has yet to reach a sizable scale and domestic demand for vaccination has been rising sharply, China has started supplying vaccines to countries with urgent need from as early as September 2020. China has donated, and is donating, vaccines to over 100 countries, and exporting vaccines to over 60 countries. The total number has exceeded 770 million doses, the largest in the world.
- China has no political motive or economic calculation, and China does not attach any political strings. The only purpose of China is to make vaccines a global public good that truly serves as people’s vaccines and help the world defeat the pandemic at an early date.
- In the course of this year, China will strive to provide 2 billion doses of vaccines to the world. China has decided to donate US$100 million to the COVAX Facility for distributing vaccines to developing countries. We stand ready to work with the international community to advance international vaccine cooperation and build a community with a shared future for mankind. /// nCa, 16 September 2021 (in cooperation with Embassy of China in Turkmenistan)