Ambassador Qin Gang Attends the Virtual Meeting on Covid-19 Omicron Variant Held by the U.S. Side

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

On December 21, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken?hosted the Virtual Meeting on COVID-19 Omicron Variant, which is joined by several foreign ministers and representatives of regional organizations, discussing issues such as the global impact of and response to the Covid-19 Omicron Variant. Ambassador Qin Gang, as Representative of State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi, attended the meeting and delivered remarks.

Ambassador Qin Gang pointed out, as the Omicron variant is rapidly spreading around the globe, we are facing a very severe situation. Therefore, it is pressing to ensure ample supply and fair distribution of vaccines. China has been working hard to make Covid-19 vaccines a global public good, and help meet the WHO’s vaccination targets. Up till now, China has provided nearly 2 billion doses of vaccines for more than 120 countries and international organizations, making China the largest supplier vaccines to other countries. Most of the vaccines obtained by the developing countries are from China. President Xi Jinping recently announced that on top of the 100 million dollars of donation to COVAX, China will donate an additional 100 million doses of vaccines to fellow developing countries. China will also provide another one billion doses of vaccines to Africa. Now for the 5.6 billion shots of Covid-19 vaccines administered outside China, one third of them were provided by China.

Ambassador Qin said, as President Xi Jinping said, solidarity and cooperation is our most powerful weapon for defeating the virus. The international community must fight the pandemic together.?We must oppose disinformation and vaccine discrimination, and raise the vaccination?rate.?Major countries must shoulder their responsibilities, take the lead to provide vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, and help them foster production capacity. China will continue to work with the international community to advance international cooperation on Covid-19, narrow the global "immunity gap" and jointly build a global community of health for all.

Ambassador Qin said, Omicron variant poses a new challenge to Beijing Winter Olympic Games. China will take more effective measures to protect athletes and guests of all countries. We are confident to host a streamlined, safe and splendid Winter Olympics.