China will continue supporting Pacific island countries in COVID-19 fight: FM spokesperson

BEIJING, July 14 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to provide support within its capacity to Pacific island countries in need so that they can ultimately prevail over the pandemic, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks during a daily news briefing when asked to comment on a report that Papua New Guinea (PNG) had announced a rollout of the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine in an effort to further contain the spread of COVID-19 in the Pacific island country.

The announcement came after donations of Sinopharm vaccines arrived in PNG in late June. A ceremony was held Tuesday at Port Moresby General Hospital in the capital city of Port Moresby, where PNG government officials received vaccine jabs on site.

The PNG side said at the ceremony that the Chinese vaccine's safety and effectiveness have been fully tested and thanked the Chinese side for providing the PNG people with a new option in their fight against the pandemic, said Zhao.

Zhao said that PNG is the third Pacific island country to roll out a Chinese vaccine on a nationwide basis, after the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and noted that this is a concrete manifestation of China's firm commitment to making vaccines global public goods in Pacific island countries. He also said it was a practical action from China to promote the construction of a community of common health for mankind.