Photo: Courtesy of Sinovac

China's vaccine producer Sinovac kicked off construction of a vaccine factory in Quilicura, Chile on Thursday. The factory, which covers 21,000 square meters, will be able to produce 50 million doses of vaccine per year once completed, the Global Times learned from the company.

The Sinovac factory will be devoted to packaging and producing vaccines for COVID-19, hepatitis A and flu and helping Chile to industrialize local vaccines production, according to a statement Sinovac sent to the Global Times.

Chinese Ambassador to Chile Niu Qingbao sent congratulatory messages to the start of the construction of Sinovac's factory in Chile. He noted that Sinovac's COVID-19 vaccines were the earliest shots that Chile obtained in a large amount and has helped Chile to become one of the countries with the fastest vaccination speed and the most successful performance in controlling the epidemic.    

According to Sinovac, Chile kicked off mass vaccination campaign in February 2020 and, so far, more than 26 million shots of Sinovac vaccines have been administered in the country. 

The efficient cooperation between China and Chile in vaccine development and application is a highlight of China-Chilian partnership and an example of international cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, Niu said.

Flavio Salazar, Chile's minister of science, technology, knowledge and innovation, said at a ceremony for the construction of the factory that the project had strategic meaning for Chile's vaccine manufacturing industry that had been suspended for about 20 years.  

Sinovac's factory in Chile is the latest example of China helping foreign countries and regions to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by not only giving them shots, but helping them strengthen vaccine research and development and production abilities as well as their public health services.. 

A production line of Sinovac in Egypt was also put into use in July, 2021. It marked the first time that China has cooperated with an African country in vaccine production. Sinovac is also helping Egypt build a fully automated cold storage house that can store 150 million doses of vaccines, which, expected to be completed by June, would make Egypt a vaccine hub in Africa.

A total of one million shots of COVID-19 vaccines jointly produced by another Chinese manufacturer Sinopharm and its partner in Myanmar had also been provided to local residents since May 4, according to media reports.