China, ASEAN to focus cooperation on fighting COVID-19 pandemic

China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will focus their cooperation on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Deng Xijun has said.

At a virtual press conference held here on Monday, Deng said that China, which is among the forerunners in the global COVID-19 vaccine research and Development, will further strengthen information sharing with ASEAN countries and conduct cooperation in the vaccine research, development, production and distribution.

"For example, the China-Indonesia vaccine cooperation has made good progress. China's Sinovac Biotech and Indonesia's Bio Farma are working together on vaccines," he said.

Deng also said that China and ASEAN are currently working on a regional financial safety net that stabilizes the regional supply and industrial chains as well as the financial sector.

"ASEAN and China have set a fine example in anti-pandemic cooperation since the outbreak of the COVID-19," he said.

"It has injected a new strong impetus into our future endeavors of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future," Deng added.

Founded in 1967, the ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Vietnam is the ASEAN chair for 2020.