China vows COVID-19 vaccine at fair, reasonable prices

A medical worker shows China's COVID-19 vaccine at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, Feb. 3, 2021. (Photo by Umar Qayyum/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Although the cost of COVID-19 vaccines using different technical routes varies, China is committed to upholding the nature of vaccines as global public goods and providing them at fair and reasonable prices, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a press conference in response to a query on the specific arrangements and prices of the 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine China previously announced to provide to the COVAX initiative.

Though faced with huge domestic demand for vaccination, China is willing to work within its capacity and make efforts to turn COVID-19 vaccines into global public goods that are available and affordable to developing countries, instead of a luxury possessed by only a few countries, Wang said.

"We hope capable countries can play an active role and take concrete actions to support COVAX, so as to help developing countries receive vaccines in time and help defeat the pandemic at the earliest," he added.