With the ever expanding partnership between China and Jamaica, Our Today recently discussed a number of issues related to Asian nation and its economy with Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica Tian Qi. Here we present Part II of that interview.

WHAT PROGRESS HAS CHINA MADE IN TERMS OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON COVID-19 VACCINES?

President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders have repeated on different occasions that China will continue supporting developing countries in their fights against COVID-19 and contribute to making vaccines public goods that are accessible and affordable to all. 

The virus is an enemy to all mankind. The most pressing task for the international community at the moment is to make united efforts to fight against the pandemic. COVID-19 vaccines should be made a global public good. China is taking solid steps to act on the pledge of “making COVID-19 vaccines a public good”. China has been cooperating on this front with other countries, especially developing countries, in various means, and has provided support and assistance in accordance with their needs to the best of our ability. We will continue to promote equitable distribution and application of the vaccines worldwide, so that the benefits can be enjoyed by more people.

With 1.4 billion people in China, and as we have started to vaccinate priority groups, there is a huge domestic demand. Despite this, we are trying our best to conduct vaccine cooperation with other countries in various means to contribute to the global response. Chinese companies are running full-steam to produce more vaccines in light of the limited number of doses available for export, including finished vaccines, concentrates and semi-finished products which will be processed further in receiving countries. 

 HOW MANY COUNTRIES HAS CHINA EXPORTED VACCINES TO?

China has been acting through concrete actions on President Xi Jinping’s solemn commitment of making COVID-19 vaccines, developed and deployed in China, a global public good, thus contributing to greater accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries. That’s what we’ve been saying and what we’ve been doing.

First, China is also providing vaccine aid to Pakistan, Brunei, Nepal, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Palestine, Belarus, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea, altogether 13 developing countries. Going forward, we will also assist another 38 developing countries with vaccines. We also take an active part in the WHO-led COVAX and provide vaccines through this platform to developing countries.

Second, China supports Chinese companies in conducting joint vaccine R&D and production with foreign partners. Vaccines made by Sinopharm and Sinovac have been exported to countries including the UAE, Morocco, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil and Chile where clinical studies have been conducted.

Third, China supports relevant companies in exporting vaccines to countries in urgent need that have approved Chinese vaccines and authorized their emergency use. For instance, Serbia has started vaccination with recently imported Chinese-made vaccines. More and more countries are approving the domestic use of Chinese vaccines.

The whole world needs to pull together in order to defeat the pandemic. China will continue to provide in a timely manner, to the best of its capability, vaccines to relevant countries, especially the developing countries, and contribute its share to building a global community of health for all. We also hope the international community will work together to promote the equitable allocation and use of vaccines globally to make sure developing countries have access to and can afford them.

 HOW SAFE AND WHAT IS THE EFFICACY OF CHINESE VACCINES?

In terms of the COVID-19 vaccines, Chinese society and the Chinese government have regarded science and objectivity as priorities. I can assure you that the Chinese government always regards vaccine’s safety and efficacy as the top priority. China’s vaccine R&D companies have been advancing their work and conducting international cooperation in strict accordance with scientific rules, regulatory requirements and relevant laws and regulations. At the current stage, several China-made vaccines are undergoing Phase III clinical trials overseas, and from the data generated by these trials that have been released so far, Chinese vaccines are safe and effective. At the end of last year, China’s National Medical Products Administration granted conditional marketing authorisation to Sinopharm’s inactivated vaccine. Plus, many countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Brazil have approved the use of Chinese vaccines. All these testify to the safety and efficacy of Chinese vaccines. 

Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are gaining more international recognition. Most praises about China’s vaccines are from abroad. Many leaders of developing countries have taken the lead in injecting Chinese vaccines based on their countries’ data of Phase III trials. Chinese vaccines offer developing countries safer, affordable options.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF CHINA-JAMAICA RELATIONS?

China and Jamaica are strategic partners, and our people enjoy a longstanding friendship. In the spirit of solidarity and cooperation, and guided by the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, China and Jamaica have been helping each other in fighting COVID-19 and reviving our economies.Traditional friendship between China and Jamaica has been consolidated in the time of difficulty.

China commends Jamaica for taking active and effective measures to control COVID-19, and appreciates invaluable support from Jamaican government and people to China’s containment efforts.

Jamaica is the first country in the region to sign the cooperation plan with China on jointly building the Belt and Road. On the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, China will work with Jamaica to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, seek greater complementarity between our development strategies, and deepen effective cooperation on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, scientific and technological innovation, public health and people-to-people exchange, with more specific cooperation projects in Jamaica and more tangible benefits to Jamaican people. 

Coordination and cooperation on multilateral affairs: Both China and Jamaica are committed to the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, and recognise the leadership role of the World Health Organization in coordinating the global response to COVID-19. China reaffirms its commitment to make the development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccine, a global public good, as part of its contribution to vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries, including the Caribbean countries.

China fully understands the dual challenges of COVID-19 and climate change faced by Jamaica and other Caribbean countries.China is willing to provide continued assistance to the best of its ability. We would like to continue to work with Jamaica to call on the international community to provide more material, technological, financial and humanitarian support to Caribbean countries to help them achieve independent and sustainable development.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHINA-JAMAICA COOPERATION?

Bilateral trade: China- Jamaica trade of 2020 comes to be over US$662 million in total, an increase of 7.5 per cent year-on-year. Of the total, Jamaica imported over US$630 million and exported a bit over US$31.8 million. 

Bilateral investment: China’s investment exceeds US$2 billion by the end of last year while Jamaica’s investment in China totals US$12.44 million.

International development aid projects: China has contributed more than 2 billion RMB, which covers all areas of Jamaica’s economic and social development.  

There are more than 20 Chinese companies operating in Jamaica, created more than 10,000 jobs, the number is even bigger when it comes to indirect job creation.

Mutual support on combat of COVID-19: 1.13 million RMB worth of anti-epidemic materials have been donated by the Government of China to Jamaica government an people. Besides, 20,000 face masks donated by the People’s Government of Sichuan Province. 10,000 face masks donated by  the People’s Government of Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, just to name a few.

China will work with Jamaica to pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, seek greater complementarity between our development strategies, and deepen effective cooperation on infrastructure, trade, agriculture, scientific and technological innovation, public health and people-to-people exchange, with more specific cooperation projects in Jamaica and more tangible benefits to Jamaican people. 

Looking forward, Chinese and Jamaican business communities can seize the opportunities of the new development paradigm of China for shared benefits. We welcome and encourage Jamaican businesses to make full use of the platforms of the China International Import Expo, the China International Trade Fair for Services, among others, to expand trade and economic cooperation. Besides the traditional high quality Jamaican products like Blue Mountain Coffee and rum, we would like to see more products and services, such as seafood, pork, seasoning, tourism, entertainment, music, exporting to China. Working together, the business communities could contribute to recovery and growth of both our economies and bring more benefits to our peoples

CLICK HERE FOR PART I OF THIS INTERVIEW