Chinese FM meets WHO chief

BEIJING - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday met with visiting Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who came to China for the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Tedros said he was delighted to come to China and participate in the Olympic torch relay on this special occasion, adding that the Beijing Olympic Winter Games has brought solidarity, peace and hope to the world under the impact of the pandemic and will help people tide over the current difficult moment.

He expressed appreciation for China's strong support to the world in fighting the pandemic and pledged to continue strengthening cooperation with China in public health. He expects and believes that China would play an important role in achieving the goal of vaccinating 70 percent of people in all countries, he said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of New China's lawful seat in the WHO.

China has carried out all-dimensional, multi-tiered and wide-ranging pragmatic and effective cooperation with the WHO in the past 50 years, supporting and participating in the WHO's efforts to address various challenges, Wang said.

China has provided over 2.1 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations. Many developing countries, particularly in Africa, received their first batch of vaccines from China, and most of their vaccines also came from China, according to Wang.

He added that China supports the global COVID-19 vaccination strategy proposed by the WHO and stands ready to strengthen cooperation with the WHO on bridging the immunization gap and making vaccines accessible and affordable for developing countries.