Photo taken on Sept. 15, 2020 shows Russia's COVID-19 vaccine named "Sputnik V" during the phase-3 clinical trials in Moscow, Russia.(Photo: Xinhua)

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said on Monday it had reached an agreement with China's Shenzhen Yuanxing Gene-tech to produce over 60 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in China, with production due to start in May.

"RDIF ... and Shenzhen Yuanxing Gene-tech Co.,Ltd., one of the leading biotechnological companies in China, have agreed to cooperate on production of over 60 million doses of the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection Sputnik V in the country. This amount of the vaccine will be sufficient to vaccinate over 30 million people. The commercial production is due to start in May 2021," RDIF said in a press release.