At the invitation of the Department of African Affairs of the Foreign Ministry and China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Sinopharm), a delegation of 51 African diplomats and senior representatives visited National Vaccine & Serum Institute of Sinopharm on October 15, 2020. Director-General of the Department of African Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Wu Peng and Chairman of Sinopharm Liu Jingzhen accompanied them during the visit.
The delegation visited the China Biological Museum and the poliomyelitis vaccine manufacturing workshop of Sinopharm, watched the video on the operation process of vaccine production in the COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing workshop at the group's command center, listened to Sinopharm's introduction to China's vaccine technology and COVID-19 vaccine R&D, and exchanged ideas on site.
Director-General Wu Peng said, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Africa have supported each other in both words and actions and worked together to fight the disease. China will actively fulfill the pledge made by President Xi Jinping that "once the development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccine is completed in China, African countries will be among the first to benefit". On the basis of fully respecting the African will, China will step up vaccine cooperation with Africa and co-build a China-Africa community of health to create more benefits for the Chinese and African people.
Chairman Liu Jingzhen introduced the outstanding achievements of Sinopharm in COVID-19 drug manufacturing, medical treatment and vaccine R&D, and said the group stands ready to further strengthen COVID-19 vaccine and other aspects of cooperation with African countries to jointly defeat the virus.
Acting Dean of African Diplomatic Corps in China and Niger's Ambassador to China Inoussa Moustapha emphasized, while making all-out efforts to fight the pandemic effectively at home, China has also actively supported Africa in the battle, showing the high level of China-Africa relations. China's pledge to make vaccines a global public good and provide them to developing countries as first recipients is an important step taken by the country to uphold the concept of a community of common health for mankind. African speaks highly of China's efforts.
African diplomats thanked China for greatly supporting African countries in combating the pandemic and congratulated China on its progress in COVID-19 vaccine R&D and world leadership in this field. They said, they have got first-hand and in-depth knowledge of the safety and effectiveness of Chinese vaccine and believe that the vaccine once put into use will empower the global fight against the pandemic. They expressed the wish that China would help Africa to defeat the virus as early as possible through further strengthened cooperation on vaccine R&D and use.
