Five Chinese COVID-19 vaccine candidates are under phase-III clinical trials in countries including the UAE, Brazil, Pakistan and Peru, according to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Wednesday.

He introduced that the five Chinese vaccines are: two inactivated vaccines developed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), one inactivated vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech Co., one adenoviral vector vaccine jointly developed by the Academy of Military Sciences and the Chinese biotech company CanSino, and one recombinant protein vaccine developed by Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biologic Pharmacy.

"After the pandemic broke out, the Chinese government at the earliest time possible laid out five technical routes including inactivated vaccine, recombinant protein vaccine, adenoviral vector vaccine, attenuated influenza vaccine and nucleic acid vaccine," Zhao said.

Read more: Track on COVID-19 vaccines

He added that aside from cooperating with the UAE, Brazil, Pakistan and Peru, China also keeps close cooperation with international organizations such as the WHO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

China also joined WHO-sponsored Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative and the Solidarity Trial for COVID-19 treatments, and COVAX to promote fair distribution of vaccines.

"We hope Chinese vaccines will be included in COVAX's procurement list as soon as possible after their development, which will contribute to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries," Zhao said.