China pledges USD 20 million for global vaccine alliance GAVI

China on Thursday pledged USD 20 million for the vaccines alliance GAVI at the Global Vaccine Summit hosted by the UK. Addressing the virtual summit, Premier Li Keqiang said that to enhance global coronavirus vaccine cooperation, China has been cooperating closely with the international partners in the development of COVID-19 vaccines and will fulfill its commitment to providing global public goods.

To meet the challenges of COVID-19, the Chinese government will make a contribution of USD 20 million to GAVI's funding for the period 2021-2025, Li announced, official media here reported. The virtual summit, chaired by the UK, was aimed at raising at least USD 7.4 billion in funding for GAVI - the global vaccine alliance - whose founding partners include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF. China moved from being a beneficiary to a donor of GAVI in 2015 with an initial contribution of USD five million, state-run Global Times reported. There are 10 vaccines undergoing clinical trials and 123 candidates in the preclinical evaluation stage, according to latest WHO data on Tuesday. Among the 10 pioneers, five were developed by Chinese scientists and have entered phase II clinical trials. One vaccine co-registered by developers from China, Germany, and the US is undergoing phase I trials, the report said.