China to donate 600 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Africa

BEIJING (AP) — China has pledged to donate 600 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines to Africa as the world grapples with the unequal distribution of the shots between rich and poor countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping made the promise in a video speech to the opening ceremony of a China-Africa forum on economic cooperation. He said China will supply 1 billion doses in all. The other 400 million are to come through other routes such as production by Chinese companies in Africa. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation runs through Tuesday. It is being hosted by Senegal.