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‘No need to be shy’: China asks US senator for proof of vaccine sabotage
On Sunday, a senior Chinese official said once developed, China will make its Covid-19 vaccine a global public good.
China on Monday challenged a US senator to furnish evidence supporting his allegation that Beijing is actively trying to sabotage the efforts of western countries to develop a vaccine for Covid-19.
Republican Senator Rick Scott has told BBC television that he thinks China is actively working to disrupt the efforts of the US and other western countries to develop the vaccine.
“We have evidence that communist China is trying to sabotage us or slow it down. China does not want us and England and Europe to do it first. They have decided to be an adversary to Americans and I think to democracy around the world,” Scott said.
Scott said the information was provided by the US’s intelligence community but didn’t elaborate.
On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying’s response to Scott’s accusation was acerbic.
“Since this lawmaker said he has evidence that China is trying to sabotage western countries in their vaccine development, then please let him present the evidence. There’s no need to be shy,” Hua told journalists at the regular ministry briefing on Monday.
Hua added that the development of a Covid-19 vaccine is not a bilateral competition and Beijing hopes Washington will mirror China’s pledge and offer any vaccine it develops to the world for free.
On Sunday, a senior Chinese official said once developed, China will make its Covid-19 vaccine a global public good.
Wang Zhigang, minister of science and technology, said at a press conference in Beijing that international cooperation should be strengthened in vaccine development, clinical trials and application.
Vaccine development should focus on “…ensuring safety, effectiveness, and accessibility”.
China is currently developing COVID-19 vaccines in five categories -- inactivated vaccines, recombinant protein vaccines, live attenuated influenza vaccines, adenovirus vaccines, and nucleic acid-based vaccines, Wang said.
At the same Sunday press conference, vice foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu said China has participated in an international collaboration initiative launched by the WHO to accelerate the development of vaccines and medicines for Covid-19.
The clash of words on developing the vaccine is the latest chapter in the ongoing row between China and the US on the pandemic.
US President Donald Trump has led Washington’s criticism of China’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak, accusing Beijing of cover-up and lack of transparency.
Countering the accusations, China has repeatedly said it has been open and transparent about the outbreak, which first emerged from the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.
