The 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization was successfully held in Geneva, Switzerland from June 12th to 17th. The meeting achieved a number of important results, among which the ministerial decision on the intellectual property exemption of new crown vaccine attracted much attention. The head of the World Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Xinhua News Agency on the 20th that China made an important contribution to reaching the decision, played a constructive role at a critical moment in the negotiations, and demonstrated the responsibility of a major country.
When talking about China’s role in supporting intellectual property exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines, the person in charge said that in May 2020, President Xi Jinping announced at the opening ceremony of the 73rd World Health Assembly video conference that China’s COVID-19 vaccine research and development Once completed and put into use, it will be used as a global public good and China will contribute to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.
Currently, China has provided more than 2.2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to more than 120 countries and international organizations, making it an important contributor to international anti-epidemic cooperation.
In May 2021, President Xi Jinping announced at the Global Health Summit that China has announced its support for intellectual property exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines, and also supports international institutions such as the World Trade Organization to make an early decision on this. Since then, President Xi Jinping has repeatedly reiterated China’s support for the vaccine exemption issue on relevant international occasions.
The person in charge said that China has been actively participating in the consultation on the intellectual property exemption issue of the new crown vaccine under the WTO framework, emphasizing its support and attention to the issue of vaccine accessibility and affordability in developing members, and strengthening cooperation with the United States, Communication and interaction among members of the European Union, India and South Africa have helped all parties bridge their differences and reach an agreement as soon as possible.
During the critical stage of negotiations at this ministerial conference, as a major country in the production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines, China proactively announced that it would not seek to enjoy the flexibility provided by the exemption decision, demonstrating the responsibility of a major country and laying the groundwork for the smooth submission of the decision to the multilateral process and the final outcome of the conference. foundation. China's constructive role in the negotiations has been highly appreciated by WTO Director-General Iweala and other members. This is also a practical action by China to defend the multilateral trading system and practice the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Regarding the significance of reaching a ministerial decision on intellectual property exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines, the person in charge said that at present, the combined effects of changes in a century and the epidemic of the century have brought many uncertain factors to global economic and trade development, and have also brought severe challenges to the multilateral trading system. challenge. Reaching a ministerial decision on intellectual property exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines reflects the key role played by the WTO in actively responding to global challenges, conveys the spirit of unity and cooperation among WTO members, and effectively boosts the confidence of all parties in the multilateral trading system.
Talking about how developing members will benefit from this, the person in charge said that it was decided to take into account the special circumstances of the new coronavirus epidemic and allow developing members to be exempted from patents related to the WTO's " Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights" Part of the obligation to protect is to authorize the production of COVID-19 vaccines without the permission of the patent holder and export them to other qualified developing members. Developing members enjoy greater flexibility in terms of implementation of authorization, notification obligations and provision of appropriate remuneration to patent holders.
In addition, it was decided to provide legal guarantees and procedural conveniences for the localized production of COVID-19 vaccines in developing members. This reflects the agreement’s advocacy of protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights, promoting technology transfer and dissemination, and protecting the public Aims and objectives of health and social welfare. This important achievement will play an important role in bridging the global "vaccine divide", improving the accessibility and affordability of COVID-19 vaccines in developing members, and promoting the construction of a global human health community. (Reporter Xie Xiyao)
