WINDHOEK, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China has pledged to avail any successful COVID-19 vaccine to Namibia and other developing countries, a Chinese envoy said on Thursday.

According to Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming, Namibia and other developing countries are likely to be considered a priority should China successfully develop a vaccine against the coronavirus.

"We are racing with the time to develop the effective vaccine, it is the first priority not only for China but all the countries in the world to find this vaccine to save more lives. Once the deployment and development of the vaccine in China is completed, we pledge to make it available to Namibia," Zhang said.

China is carrying out research and development of five potential vaccines to cope with COVID-19.