China donates vaccines to Thailand to help fight COVID-19

Chargé D'affaires of the Chinese Embassy to Thailand Yang Xin, on behalf of the Chinese government, handed over 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine donated by China to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul at the Thailand Ministry of Public Health on May 17.

Yang said that in order to support the Thai government and people in their fight against COVID-19, the Chinese government has donated 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the Thai government, which is a demonstration of the sincere friendship of the Chinese people to the Thai people and of China’s acting in good faith as a major responsible country.

Noting that the virus knows no borders, he said that in the face of the raging global pandemic, only by continuously strengthening international cooperation can the spread of COVID-19 be fundamentally curbed. China has been committed to building a global health community for all and actively promoting international cooperation in the fight against the pandemic.

Vaccine is an important weapon against COVID-19. China was the first country to pledge to make COVID-19 vaccine a global public good and has been honoring this commitment. It has provided vaccine assistance to more than 80 countries and international organizations, and has exported doses to more than 50 countries, contributing to the availability and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, China and Thailand have made joint efforts to combat the epidemic and overcome difficulties, and the traditional kinship of "Thailand and China as one family" has been continuously increased, he added.

The two countries have carried out fruitful cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine. Since the first Chinese vaccine arrived in Thailand on Feb 24, China has provided 4.5 million doses of Chinese COVID-19 vaccine to Thailand, and another 1.5 million doses will arrive in Bangkok within this month.

Yang said he believes that the Chinese vaccine will play a positive part in protecting the health of the Thai people, especially front-line staff such as medical, military and police personnel, and will benefit more Thai people in the future. He wished Thailand will control the epidemic at an early date, promote economic recovery and resume normal life and production, and said that China is willing to continue working together with Thailand to advance China-Thailand comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and practical collaboration in various fields.

On behalf of the Thai government and people, Anutin expressed appreciation to the Chinese government for its repeated and timely assistance. He said that the vaccine aid provided by China is of historical significance. It fully reflects the profound friendship between the two governments and two peoples, and presents a true picture of the kinship of "Thailand and China as one family".

He said that vaccination is an important strategy of the Thai government to fight the epidemic and safeguard the health of the Thai people, which will effectively mitigate the impact of the epidemic on the economy and society. Thailand is making great efforts to push forward vaccination nationwide and believes that the Chinese vaccine will play a bigger role and bring more benefits to the Thai people.