BEIJING: China has provided more than 500 million doses of vaccines to other developing countries, and will provide another US$3 billion in aid over the next three years to support COVID-19 response and economic and social recovery in other developing countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the APEC Informal Economic Leaders’ Retreat via video link in Beijing on Friday night.
China has financed the founding of a Sub-Fund on APEC Cooperation on Combating COVID-19 and Economic Recovery, which will help APEC economies win an early victory over COVID-19 and achieve economic recovery, Xi said. Xi said China supports waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines, and will work with other parties to push for an early decision by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international institutions. China will take an active part in cooperation initiatives to keep vaccine supply chains stable and safe, and support the movement of essential goods, Xi said. He stressed that the global digital economy is an open and closely knit entity. Win-win cooperation is the only way forward, while a closed-door policy, exclusion, confrontation and division would only lead to a dead end, Xi said. We need to ensure the full and balanced implementation of the APEC Internet and Digital Economy Roadmap, further develop the digital infrastructure, facilitate the dissemination and application of new technologies, and work for a digital business environment that is open, fair and non-discriminatory, he said. Xi, US President Joe Biden and other world leaders met virtually on Friday night during the informal leaders’ meeting of the APEC. New Zealand, the revolving APEC host, said this week it would chair the extraordinary meeting ahead of a formal gathering in November, the first time such an additional meeting has been held, Reuters reported. The meeting was conducted at a critical time when the world is facing a resurgence of COVID-19 and the international cooperation against the virus has entered a new stage, and also when the US’ Asia-Pacific policy which aimed at forming cliques and inciting confrontations has shattered unity and added more difficulties to regional countries plagued by the pandemic, observers said.
– The Daily Mail-Global Times News exchange item
