China to provide vaccines to Olympic Games athletes

BEIJING - China is willing to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to provide vaccines to athletes preparing to participate in the Olympic Games, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said this at a press briefing in response to a question on the Chinese COVID-19 vaccines and international cooperation on vaccines.

According to media reports, Thomas Bach, the IOC president, said that the IOC has received a kind offer from the Chinese Olympic Committee to make vaccine doses available for participants in this year's Tokyo Olympics and Beijing Winter Games in 2022.

Preliminary data from a study in Brazil shows that Chinese vaccines could effectively fight the P1 variant of the coronavirus first discovered in Brazil. The Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan spoke highly of the efficacy of Chinese vaccine on social media after receiving his first shots of a COVID-19 vaccine donated by China.

"From the cases above, we can see that more and more countries recognize the safety and efficacy of Chinese vaccines," said Zhao.

He noted China firmly supports international cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines. He also added that China responded to the United Nations' call to donate vaccines to peacekeepers from all over the world. The country is also willing to work with the IOC to provide vaccines to athletes preparing to participate in the Olympic Games.

"These are concrete measures to implement the pledge of vaccines as global public goods. We sincerely hope that Chinese vaccines will inject more confidence and hope into the global fight against COVID-19," Zhao said.