Xi to give priority to Philippines once China develops COVID-19 vaccine -Palace

Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to give the Philippines priority access once it develops a vaccine against COVID-19, Malacañang said Friday.

“President Xi reiterated China’s commitment to the international community to make any vaccine it develops a global public good and that as a friendly neighbor, China certainly considers the Philippines as a priority,” the Palace said in a statement.

Xi gave the assurance during his 38-minute telephone conversation with President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday about ways to combat the spread of COVID-19.

During the call, Duterte emphasized that vaccines should be accessible and affordable to all countries, including the Philippines, the Palace said. 

Early this week, the Philippines’ coronavirus task force approved Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech as a potential collaborating organization for the clinical trials in the Philippines of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

Sinovac Biotech developed one of the potential vaccines being tested in China.

The other collaborating organizations for the clinical trials are the Adimmune Corp., Academia Sinica, the Chinese Academy of Science-Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, and the SinoPharma-Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and Beijing Institute.

For Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, the "new normal" phase will be observed in some areas beginning July although this may not include Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported that Duterte told Xi that “the Philippine side will always be a friend of the Chinese people and will not allow anyone to use the Philippines to engage in anti-China activities.”

Ties with China have warmed under Duterte, who temporarily set aside the maritime dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea to give way to increased trade and economic cooperation with the Asian powerhouse. --KBK, GMA News