The President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, has assured African countries that they would be among the first countries to benefit from a coronavirus vaccine being developed by China.
The Embassy of China in Nigeria made the pledge in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to the statement, Jinping made the pledge in his keynote address on Wednesday in Beijing at the virtual extraordinary China-Africa Summit with African Presidents on solidarity against COVID-19.
He said that listing African countries as first beneficiaries of its vaccines was part of China’s support to Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining that effective response called for solidarity among world leaders.
“First, we must stay committed to fighting COVID-19 together. China will continue to do whatever it can to support Africa’s response to COVID-19.
“China will lose no time in following through on the measures I announced at the opening of the World Health Assembly.
“We will continue to help African countries by providing supplies, sending expert teams and facilitating Africa’s procurement of medical supplies in China.
“China will start ahead of schedule, the construction of the Africa CDC headquarters this year.
China will work with Africa to fully deliver the health care initiative adopted at the FOCAC Beijing Summit, and speed up the construction of China-Africa Friendship Hospitals.
“We will also speed up cooperation between paired-up Chinese and African hospitals and together, we will build a China-Africa community of health for all.
“We pledge that once the development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccine is completed in China, African countries will be among the first to benefit.’’