The Chinese Embassy says the Chinese government intends to provide more vaccine assistance and bring hope to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The assurance by the Embassy in Apia comes on the back of reports from the Solomon Islands that the country has taken delivery of 50,000 doses of SinoPharm vaccines from China, which would make the Solomon Islands the first country in the region to receive Chinese-made doses.

The doses were donated by the People's Republic of China and were airlifted on a special chartered flight operated by Solomon Airlines.

The Samoa Observer had approached the Chinese Embassy in Apia to query whether the COVID-19 vaccines donated to the Solomon Islands is an area that China is considering for other Pacific islands including Samoa.

In a response the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Apia, Zhang Muyue said China was the first nation to pledge to turn vaccines into a global public good and has been striving to promote the accessibility and affordability of vaccines for developing countries.

"We have joined the World Health Organisation-initiated COVAX and pledged a first batch of 10 million doses to meet the urgent need of developing countries," Ms. Muyue said.

According to Associated Press in early February China announced a plan to provide 10 million coronavirus vaccine doses to developing nations through the global COVAX Facility, as part of its ambitious diplomatic and business efforts to distribute Chinese vaccines around the world.

The news wire service also reported that China had already shipped large numbers of its own vaccines, mainly to developing countries and had pursued deals or donations with more than 30 nations far exceeding the 10 million doses it is providing to COVAX.

According to Ms. Muyue, China is providing vaccine assistance to 80 countries and three international organizations at their requests as well as exporting to 40-plus countries.

China has also entered into vaccine research and development production cooperation with more than 10 countries.

"We hope these sincere efforts will bring more confidence and hope to the global fight against the virus," she said.