China has welcomed Ukraine’s withdrawal from a joint call for Beijing to grant the UN human rights chief access to Xinjiang amid reports that Beijing used vaccine diplomacy to persuade Kiev to make the switch. Ukraine was one of more than 40 countries, including Canada, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the United States, that last week urged China to allow immediate access for independent observers to Xinjiang to check alleged mistreatment of Uygurs and members of other Muslim minority groups there. The statement, delivered to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, called for access to look into reports that more than a million people had been detained in the far western region – reports that Beijing rejects. On Friday, Ukraine’s representative in Geneva said it had withdrawn its signature from the joint statement. Associated Press cited two diplomats from Western countries as saying that Beijing had warned Kiev that it would block a planned shipment of at least 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines if Ukraine refused to drop its signature. The Chinese government did not comment on the report, but it did welcome Ukraine’s decision. The Chinese foreign ministry said on Saturday that Kiev’s decision “reflects its spirit of independence and respect for facts and conforms to the purposes of the UN Charter and basic norms governing international relations”. “The moves of a few Western countries to interfere in China’s internal affairs, suppress and contain China and hinder China’s development under the pretext of human rights are unavailing,” the ministry said. A commentary on Niutanqin, the social media account affiliated with state news agency Xinhua, was more direct in linking China’s vaccine support to Ukraine and Kiev’s position on the human rights issue. The article said that if the West was concerned that China’s vaccine supplies were a factor in Ukraine’s decision, why did the United States not provide doses of its own? “Or maybe Ukraine felt ashamed that it would stab China in the back while receiving support from China, and it eventually decided to change course. Ukraine has finally become clear-headed,” it said. Ukraine ordered 1.9 million doses from Chinese developer Sinovac, receiving 1.2 million doses as of early May, according to the AP report. The country, home to 44 million people, started administering Sinovac vaccines in April, including to its Olympic athletes. It has so far fully vaccinated 1.2 per cent of its population. Coronavirus: Serbia backs China against ‘vaccine diplomacy’ critics China has been trying to play down discussion of its “vaccine diplomacy”. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in April that Beijing had no intention of using vaccines as a tool in international politics and China was trying to make its vaccines “global public good”. Chen Qi, an expert on China’s foreign policy at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy, said neither Beijing nor Kiev had confirmed that Ukraine’s decision was prompted by China’s pressure over vaccines. “It’s China’s consistent policy not to politicise Covid-19 vaccine supply,” Chen said.