"We are closely following the latest progress of the Russian side in clinical trials of vaccines. We are confident that successful research and development of vaccines and their widespread use will play an important role in the successful prevention and control of the epidemic in Russia," Zhang said.
The diplomat also praised Moscow-Beijing coordination in the sphere of public health amid the pandemic and said that China favors the further strengthening of cooperation in various research fields.
"China and Russia have developed extensive cooperation in public health and epidemic control. The Chinese side is ready to continue to boost research cooperation with the Russian side in the field of biological safety, epidemic prevention and control, methods of diagnosis and treatment, PCR tests and effective medications, as well as to promote the rapid application of new technologies like artificial intelligence, big data, remote conferences, and cloud programming to fight the epidemic more effectively," the ambassador said.
Russia has been among the leaders of COVID-19 vaccine development with two of its products, Sputnik V, created by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, and EpiVacCorona, by the Siberian research center Vector, already in the Phase 3 trials.
