China maintaining COVID-19 talks with nations, WHO

A Chinese donation of medical supplies is handed over at the Kibungo hospital in Rwanda's Eastern Province on Jan 20. (Photo/Xinhua)

China has maintained pragmatic cooperation and open, transparent communication with the World Health Organization and countries and regions worldwide since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago, Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, said on Tuesday.

In January 2020, the country offered to establish a technical communication mechanism with the WHO, and over the past three years, Chinese technical departments, institutions and experts have closely communicated with the organization, Mi said at a news conference.

The two sides have held more than 60 technical discussions on COVID-19 epidemic control, medical treatment, vaccine development and virus origin tracing, he said.

China has also held more than 300 epidemic control talks and conducted related activities with more than 180 countries and regions and over 10 international organizations, and it has shared its experiences in epidemic control without reservations, Mi said.

Since China announced 10 new optimized epidemic control measures last month, it has held two conferences with the WHO — one on Dec 9 and the other on Dec 30, with in-depth discussions on the nation's epidemic situation and its medical treatment and vaccination efforts, he said.

China is willing to continue cooperating with the WHO and the international community to contribute to ending the pandemic, he added.