China, US need to initiate global public health, infectious disease response cooperation mechanism: Xi

BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said that China and the United States need to call for the establishment of a cooperation mechanism for global public health and communicable disease prevention and control, and promote further international exchanges and cooperation.

Xi made the remarks in a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden.

COVID-19 will not be the last public health crisis facing humanity, Xi stressed.

Response to any major disease must be based on science, he said, adding that politicizing diseases does no good but only harm.

Xi also said the pressing priority in the global COVID response is to address the vaccine deficits and close the vaccination gap.

China is among the first to offer vaccines to developing countries in need, delivering over 1.7 billion doses of finished and bulk vaccines to the world and will consider making additional donations in light of the needs of developing countries, said Xi.