Embassy of China: Vaccine delivery not stopped due to political reasons

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

The Embassy of China in the capital city of Ankara has indicated that the slowdown in the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine delivery to Turkey is not caused by political reasons, writes Murat Yetkin.

In his website YetkinReport, the journalist has penned an article titled "China: no political aim in vaccine sales slowdown to Turkey".

Referring to the statements of his sources from China's Embassy, Yetkin has said that according to the statement of the diplomat, 26 million doses of Sinovac company's vaccine were delivered to Turkey as of May 7, 2021. The article has also indicated that "China denied allegations that the delivery of vaccines to Turkey was stopped due to political reasons."

Some highlights from Yetkin's article are as follows:

'Because of massive vaccination campaign'

"Sources from the Embassy of China in Ankara told YetkinReport that the 'slowdown' in deliveries was because of a 'massive' vaccination campaign in China and the deliveries to Turkey to which gets a quarter of whole Chinese vaccine exports will be resumed before the end of May.

"Chinese Embassy sources who asked not to be named did not specify any amount or the exact time of the delivery. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said earlier that 100 million doses were expected to be delivered from China by the end of May.

"According to the Chinese Embassy sources, so far 26 million doses have been delivered to Turkey. That is the amount Koca had revealed on April 12 which means no deliveries have been made since then.

"The reason for the interruption in deliveries is explained by a Chinese diplomat as a 'massive vaccination campaign in China' that was completed on May 7, involving 300 million doses.

"In Turkish media there were claims that China had stopped the vaccine delivery as a reaction to pending ratification of an 'Exchange of Criminals Agreement' in-between signed by President Tayyip Erdogan in 2017, with possible consequences on Chinese citizens of Uighur origin, living in Turkey.

"The 26 million doses of Sinovac have been the biggest amount of Chinese Covid-19 vaccines delivered to any other country so far according to Chinese sources. 'We have exported 100 million doses so far,' one source said; 'and a quarter of it was to Turkey; the first in the rank'. The same source added that the rate of vaccine citizens in China was half of the rate in Turkey."

(RT/SD)