EU offers China free Covid-19 vaccines as infections surge
- China has yet to respond, said the European Commission; it did not say how many jabs it was offering or names of manufacturers
- Asked by Reuters if Beijing would accept, Foreign Ministry said supplies ‘adequate’ but China open to ‘strengthening cooperation with international community’
The European Union has offered free Covid-19 vaccines to China, the EU executive said on Tuesday, as infections surged following Beijing’s relaxation of its “zero-Covid” policies.
China has not yet responded to the offer, a spokesperson for the European Commission told journalists at a regular briefing. He did not specify the amount of vaccines the EU was offering or their manufacturers.
“In view of the Covid situation in China, [Health] Commissioner Stella Kyriakides has reached out to her Chinese counterparts to offer EU solidarity and support,” he said.
“This includes public health expertise as well as variant-adapted EU vaccine donations.”
Asked whether Beijing would accept the EU offer, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning sidestepped a direct reply, telling Reuters that China’s vaccination rate and treatment capacity continued to rise and its supplies were “adequate”.
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She said China was open to “strengthening solidarity and cooperation with the international community” to better meet its pandemic challenges, although it could “meet the demand of anyone who wants to be vaccinated”.