China official on Sinopharm safety, US criticism

China vowed to continue promoting "equitable access to vaccines in developing countries" after the World Health Organization gave emergency use authorization Friday to a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by China's Sinopharm.

The decision by a WHO technical advisory group - a first for a Chinese vaccine - opens the possibility that Sinopharm's offering could be included in the UN-backed COVAX program in coming weeks or months and distributed through UNICEF and the WHO's Americas regional office.

At a daily news briefing, Hua Chunying, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said China will make good on its promise to provide 10 million doses of vaccines to the COVAX and is in "close communication with the WHO."

The announcement raised the prospect that the Chinese vaccine, which has already been exported by millions of doses in some countries, could join the UN's arsenal against COVID-19 at a time when supplies of other Western-made/developed vaccines have been lacking.

Separately, Hua accused the U.S. of misusing the UN platform to attack China after the U.S. proposed a UN event next week together with Germany and the U.K. on the repression of Uygur Muslims in the far western Xinjiang region.

"This is a total insult to the United Nations," said Hua.

Last week, the Chinese mission to the UN submitted a note expressing China's opposition and calling on UN member states not to attend the event.

Beijing rejects complaints that it mistreats Uygur minorities and says camps in Xinjiang are for job training to promote economic development and combat radicalism among the western region's predominantly Muslim population.