China will continue to tackle epidemic challenges head on

China has made important contributions to the world in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic over the past three years and is willing to continue to work with the international community to face challenges posed by the epidemic, said Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission.

When the COVID-19 outbreak first occurred in China, the country has taken forceful measures to prevent its transmission to other countries and regions, thus buying valuable time for the international community, he said at a news conference on Friday.

The country had immediately reported the outbreak to the WHO, shared the genome sequencing results with the world and has published treatment and control plans, which is the basis for epidemic control among international communities and research and development of vaccines, and testing equipment, he said.

China has offered hundreds of billions of epidemic control materials to 153 countries and 15 international organizations, organized more than 300 academic communication activities on epidemic control and medical treatment, with more than 180 countries and regions and more than 10 international organizations, and sent 37 medical teams to 34 countries, Mi said.

It is the first country to promise making its COVID-19 vaccine a "global public good", supported the waiver of COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property, and has provided more than 2.2 billion doses of vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, he said.

The country also held more than 100 communication and live-streaming events on the role that traditional Chinese medicine plays in epidemic control, introduced the TCM treatment plans to more than 150 countries and regions, and offered TCM products to countries and regions in need, he added.