China says is ready to provide vaccines to Olympians

China is planning to set up Covid vaccination stations to inoculate Chinese citizens abroad. It on Sunday also said it is ready to work with the International Olympic Committee to help provide vaccines to Olympic athletes for upcoming events.

China has developed several vaccines domestically and has begun its own vaccination drive, with plans to vaccinate 40% of its population by July.

"We are preparing to set up regional vaccination sites for domestically produced vaccines in countries where conditions permit, to provide services to compatriots in need in neighbouring countries," China's top government diplomat Wang Yi said in his annual news conference held on Sunday.

He added some citizens of his country were already receiving Chinese-made vaccines abroad according to local law, and that Beijing would also make vaccines available to Olympians.

China is set to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics next year, while the Summer Olympics are scheduled to take place in Japan later this year.

China has said it plans to provide 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to global vaccine sharing scheme COVAX. Vaccines from Chinese firms are already being offered in several countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

During Sunday's news conference, Wang also spoke against "vaccine nationalism", and said China would resist any attempt to politicise vaccine cooperation.

Beijing has repeatedly called into question the idea that the new coronavirus originated in China, and has embarked upon a vaccine diplomacy campaign to send Chinese-developed shots against COVID-19 around the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to make China's vaccines a "global public good."