China sits out 2nd Global COVID-19 Summit due to 'political manipulation'

China did not join in the recent second Global COVID-19 Summit co-hosted by the United States because Washington violated the one-China principle and invited Taiwan to attend the meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Friday.

Speaking at a regular news briefing, Zhao said China welcomes all efforts that help the international community fight COVID-19 in a united and scientific manner.

"But China opposes any country that uses the pandemic to engage in political manipulation," he said.

China has given full play to its own advantages and helps in the prevention and control of the pandemic, Zhao said, adding that the country has taken the lead to propose the concept of building a global community of health for all.

He said China has also worked to ensure the stability of global supply chains of anti-pandemic materials, and actively promotes international cooperation in vaccines.

According to Zhao, China has provided anti-pandemic materials to 153 countries and 15 international organizations, including 4.6 billion protective suits, 18 billion test kits and over 430 billion masks as of early May.

China has offered more than 2.2 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, Zhao added.

It has sent 37 medical expert teams to 34 countries to share their experiences in pandemic prevention and control, said the spokesman.

Zhao said that China has made important contributions in promoting vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing countries, with it being the first country to pledge to make COVID-19 vaccines a global public good.

It is among the first to support the wavier of intellectual property rights on the vaccines and has taken the lead in carrying out joint production with developing countries, Zhao added.

As COVID-19 is still raging across the world, Zhao called for concerted efforts by countries around the globe and said China will play an active role in ending the pandemic at an early date.

China will take actions to bridge immunization gaps and build a shield against the pandemic with international partners, he added.