China pledges joint Covid-19 vaccine production plan with Indonesia

Foreign Minister Wang Yi agrees deeper cooperation with Indonesian president’s envoy including regional vaccine making centre

South China Sea memorandum of understanding signed and Belt and Road Initiative commitments also made during weekend meeting

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Indonesia is hoping to work with China on a complete Covid-19 vaccine production chain, with the establishment of a regional manufacturing centre in the country. Photo: AP

Published: 1:30pm, 7 Jun 2021Updated: 1:30pm, 7 Jun 2021

Beijing plans to jointly produce Covid-19 vaccines with Indonesia and encourage more Chinese vaccine trials to be carried out there, as Jakarta seeks to ramp up its vaccination drive after a slow roll-out.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China would deepen its Covid-19 cooperation with Indonesia during a meeting on Saturday with the Indonesian president’s special envoy Luhut Binsar Panjaitan in the southwestern Chinese city of Guiyang.

This would include support for the building of a regional vaccine production centre in Indonesia, as well as encouraging more Chinese vaccine manufacturers to conduct clinical trials in the country.

“A handful of developed countries have hoarded vaccines, leaving developing countries struggling with insufficient vaccines,” Wang said, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.

“Having announced support for waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines, China will promote its vaccine companies in transferring technologies to other developing countries and carrying out joint production, so as to expand vaccine accessibility and affordability.”

Luhut, who will be in China until Wednesday, said Jakarta hoped to work with Beijing on the whole industrial chain for the vaccines, including research and development and production, according to the Chinese readout.

There have been growing concerns over inequitable access to vaccines, with China consistently accusing developed countries such as the US of hoarding. On Friday, the G7 countries – which include the United States, Britain and Germany, but not China – laid out an agreement to help deliver reliable data from international clinical trials to “speed up access to approved treatments and vaccines” against Covid-19.