China pushes pharmaceutical companies to accelerate export of vaccine to Pakistan.

BEIJING -- China on Friday asked its pharmaceutical companies to accelerate exports of coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan after Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi assured Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to provide half a million doses of coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan.

"Since outbreak, China and Pakistan have worked together to go through the difficulties in order to support our brothers and sisters in Pakistan. We decided to offer vaccine assistance to Pakistan and ask our companies to accelerate exports of vaccines to the country," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said during her regular briefing in response to a question about provision of coronavirus vaccine to Pakistan.

She informed that in the phone call between State Councilor Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart yesterday, the Chinese side has already notified the Pakistani side about it.

Hua Chunying remarked that as the Councilor Wang Yi mentioned, the China-Pakistan friendship is solid as a stone and "it is our precious strategic asset and we will continue to carry out such momentum."

She said, as China and Pakistan are...