Hong Kong is mulling counteraction against the United States over the ‘unjust’ and ‘unreasonable’ sanctions imposed on the city.

China has reached agreements with Indonesia and Pakistan on cooperation to develop Covid-19 vaccines as their foreign ministers met in Hainan province.

China and Indonesia should focus on the urgent need to promote cooperation on the development of vaccines, said State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi on Thursday.

China had made it clear that its vaccines, if developed successfully, would be provided as a global public good, and developing countries would have priorities in accessing them, Wang said.

China and Indonesia were leading other countries in the region in vaccine cooperation and the two countries had jointly carried out phase-three trials of a vaccine candidate in Indonesia, he added.

“We support our companies in conducting all-around cooperation with Indonesia to develop and use Covid-19 vaccines,” Wang said.

Retno said her country agreed that the two countries should keep up good exchanges, and she hoped the Covid-19 vaccines would benefit developing nations in a fair, accessible and economical manner, in which China would play a vital role.

China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd launched late-stage human trials on Aug 11 involving as many as 1,620 volunteers in Indonesia for a Covid19 vaccine candidate that is being jointly developed with Indonesia’s Bio Farma, Reuters reported.

Xinhua News Agency said a Chinese inactivated Covid-19 vaccine had begun phase-three clinical trials in Peru, citing a source from the vaccine’s developer China National Biotec Group affiliated with Sinopharm.

Clinical trials have also started in the United Arab Emirates and Brazil for vaccines that are being developed by Chinese companies.

At a virtual news conference on Aug 6, Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisation’s Health Emergencies Programme, said of the six vaccine candidates that had entered phasethree trials by that point, three were from China.

China and Indonesia had also agreed to set up a “fast lane” to facilitate personnel exchanges, said Wang, who urged both sides to make good use of it to maintain the smooth operation of supply chains and help with economic recovery.

As the two countries celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year, China hoped to expand cooperation and consensus with Indonesia, Wang said, adding that it also hoped to work with Indonesia to uphold multilateralism and promote multipolarisation and democratisation of international relations.

Wang called for further progress in flagship bilateral cooperation projects – such as the JakartaBandung high-speed railway – and strengthened and innovative cooperation in 5G, big data, artificial intelligence and e-commerce.

Speaking on China’s ties with Asean, Wang said there was great potential for cooperation, and urged the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership this year.

Furthermore, China and Pakistan had agreed to start cooperation on Covid-19 vaccine development, Wang said.

He made the remark on Friday during the second strategic dialogue between the foreign ministers of China and Pakistan. — China Daily/ ANN