ONCE again, China has proved its credentials as a trusted global power by expressing its commitment to share Covid-19 vaccine with other members of the international community in a fairer and transparent manner. Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, has categorically stated that after his country’s new coronavirus vaccines are completed and put into use, they will serve as a global public product and be supplied to the world at a fair and reasonable price. He also assured that China will give priority to developing countries for vaccines and this will be done through a variety of ways, including through donations and aid.
This is in sharp contrast to the attitude and policies of some other countries that have developed vaccines but are not ready to share it with others in a fair manner. As against them, China also shared its experience in dealing with the threat of Coronavirus with other countries besides providing them material assistance to cope with the situation and is now more than willing to provide vaccines to them to help bring their woes to an early end. As the majority of countries are also witnessing economic and financial problems, the announcement of Beijing to supply the vaccine also through donations and aid is a welcome development and would go a long way in earning more goodwill for China in the comity of nations. According to media reports, phase-3 trials of a Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine found it was 79% effective and there were no serious side-effects. More than a million people have already been vaccinated with the vaccines in China under its emergency use programme, including frontline health workers, state-owned enterprise employees, and workers planning to travel abroad. The United Arab Emirates has become the first foreign country to have approved the use of Chinese vaccines. The pledges made by China to share the vaccine at a fair price would mean much for the poorer countries.
