Duterte meets with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday welcomed Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi who flew to the Philippines for an official visit.

Wang, who arrived in Manila on Friday, paid a courtesy call on Duterte at Malacañan Palace on Saturday afternoon.

Wang reciprocated Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin’s visit to China in October last year.

The Chinese official would only stay in the country until Saturday.

Wang’s visit came amid the Philippines’ negotiations with China for the purchase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines with Beijing’s pharmaceutical giant Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

The Philippines is expected to receive the Sinovac vaccines by February 20.

Sinovac has already submitted its application for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

The Philippine government has stressed that it would only administer to the public the Covid-19 vaccines with EUA.

On Jan. 14, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Washington-based pharmaceutical firm Pfizer an EUA.

Apart from Sinovac, British-Swedish pharmaceutical AstraZeneca and Russia’s Gamaleya have also submitted their respective applications for EUA.
The Philippines is also seeking the procurement of vaccines from manufacturers Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax.

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. has repeatedly assured the public that the government would secure “safe, effective, and sufficient” vaccine doses in a transparent way.