ON April 12, a new batch of 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac arrived in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. On March 20, following the arrival of a prior batch of vaccines, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the Colombian people in a video message, which is taken as a special gesture. In a conversation with China Today, Colombian Ambassador to China Luis Diego Monsalve reflected upon this gesture, and also emphasized Colombia’s objective to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He expects that President Iván Duque will be able to visit China in November.
China Today (CT): Following the arrival in Colombia of a batch of Sinovac vaccines, at the invitation of President Iván Duque, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed via video message the Colombian people. How did this idea come about?
Luis Diego Monsalve (LDM): This was the successful outcome of work that has been done in recent years by President Duque, who has focused on deepening and expanding relations with China. He made a state visit to China in 2019 when he had been president for less than a year, and had a meeting with President Xi Jinping.
In the midst of this COVID-19 crisis, China has been very generous in allowing the export of vaccines to many countries, including Colombia. There was a telephone conversation between the two presidents in late February. Many issues on the bilateral agenda were touched upon and one was that of vaccines. It was agreed that China would continue to support Colombia in its fight against the pandemic and allow it to be part of its vaccine export plan.
This story is from the June 2021 edition of China Today (English).
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This story is from the June 2021 edition of China Today (English).
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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