Chinese FM attends East Asia Summit foreign ministers' meeting

BEIJING - Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday attended the 11th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting via video link, and called for solidarity and cooperation among summit members to contribute to pandemic response and economic recovery.

Wang said that summit members should uphold the spirit of science and jointly promote new measures for anti-pandemic cooperation.

He said summit members should continue to expand the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, accelerate the progress of vaccination, strengthen cooperation on iterative research and development for vaccine updates, and jointly build regional vaccine production and distribution centers.

China has so far provided more than 750 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to other countries, Wang said.

He said it is imperative to carry out virus origin tracing research in the spirit of science, oppose any political manipulation and truly provide a reference for preventing the next pandemic.

Wang called on summit members to promote green development and join hands to address climate change, adding that China will firmly follow the path of green, low-carbon and sustainable development, as well as actively participate in international cooperation in response to climate change.

Wang called for strengthening the central position of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and safeguarding international fairness and justice.

China supports the statement of the ASEAN advocating multilateralism, and is willing to work with all parties to safeguard the international system with the United Nations as the core and the international order based on international laws, Wang said.

China, as a responsible country, is willing to work with all sides to make its new contributions to effectively coping with various global challenges.