Nation to boost world vaccine supplies

China has provided more than 350 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccines overseas and is stepping up domestic production to further increase the foreign supply, especially to developing countries, a senior health official said on Sunday.

"The No 1 priority for the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is to expand and accelerate mass vaccination, which rests on boosting vaccine production and promoting equitable access," said Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the National Health Commission.

"The country is now scaling up production to ensure smooth progress of its inoculation campaigns, while also exhausting all means to offer assistance to the international community, particularly those in the developing world," he said.