China urges nations to build ‘Great Wall of Immunity’ against coronavirus

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the international community on Saturday to build a “Great Wall of Immunity” to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We should face the imminent challenges together,” Wang, who is also a member of the State Council, or cabinet, told the 9th World Peace Forum held at Tsinghua University in the Chinese capital.

“The most urgent priority is to expedite the construction of the ‘Great Wall of Immunity’ to fend off the virus, surpass political discrimination and carry out international anti-pandemic cooperation.”

China, where the coronavirus first surfaced in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019, has supplied more than 480 million vaccine doses to other nations.

Wang said it would keep working to improve the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.

By Friday, China had administered a total of 1.28 billion doses of vaccine.

(Reporting by Shivani Singh and Colin Qian; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)