President Xi Jinping said on Monday at the all-virtual Davos meeting that China will provide another one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccinations to African countries, with 150 million doses going to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Xi stated that 600 million of the one billion vaccines that would be sent to Africa will be given. This is on top of the over one billion doses China promised and delivered to Africa last year.
“China is a country that follows through on its commitments. “China has already supplied over two billion doses of vaccines to over 120 countries and international organisations,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said via video link at the World Economic Forum on Monday, his third appearance at the event.
“However, China will offer an additional one billion doses to African countries, including 600 million doses as a charity, as well as 150 million doses to Asean countries,” he stated.
After supplying approximately 200 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Africa, Xi said in November that China will send one billion doses to the continent.
Xi stressed that cooperation is the “one appropriate method” to beat the pandemic, and that holding each other back or blaming each other “would only cause needless delay in response” and “distract us from the overarching purpose.”
“Holding each other back or transferring blame will just delay our reaction and divert our attention away from the overarching goal,” he stated.
“As the globe enters a new phase of upheaval and transformation, the world finds itself in a once-in-a-century pandemic,” Xi stated.
The Covid-19 pandemic initially appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China’s central metropolis.
China has been accused of suppressing crucial information about the virus’s origins; Beijing has retorted forcefully, suggesting that more countries should be studied to determine the virus’s origins.
According to official figures, China has sent more than 120 countries and international organisations with 372 billion masks, more than 4.2 billion protective suits, 8.4 billion testing reagents, and more than 2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of last year.
According to a government spokeswoman, China has delivered the most immunizations in the world.
At a time of escalating geopolitical tensions, Xi urged other countries to abandon a “Cold War mentality,” a veiled jab at the US.
In his inaugural remarks, the Chinese leader praised his country’s efforts to distribute vaccines, combat climate change, and support prosperity both at home and abroad.
“We must abandon the Cold War mindset in favour of peaceful cohabitation and win-win outcomes.” “Today’s world is far from calm,” Xi stated. “No one can be protected by protectionism and unilateralism. They ultimately harm both others’ and one’s own interests. Even worse are hegemonic and bullying actions that go against the grain of history.
“A zero-sum strategy that maximises one’s personal gain at the expense of others will not assist,” he added. “Peaceful development and win-win cooperation are the best paths forward for humanity.”
Because of health concerns relating to the coronavirus epidemic, an online event is being staged in place of the face-to-face gathering of political and business power players in Davos, Switzerland, for the second year in a row.
