China will contribute 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines under the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, Wang Wenbin, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on Wednesday.

"This is another important measure taken by China to promote the equitable distribution of vaccines, advance international cooperation in fighting the pandemic, and uphold the concept of a global community of health for all," Wang said.

China has officially joined COVAX and maintained close communication with the World Health Organization (WHO), Wang said, vowing to make joint efforts to turn COVID-19 vaccines into global public goods and promote the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries.

The global vaccine-sharing COVAX scheme is due to start rolling out vaccines to low- and middle-income countries this month, with two billion of three billion doses expected to be delivered this year.

China will keep cooperating with the COVAX, said Wang, urging the international community to take action to support WHO's work. 

Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developers Sinovac, Sinopharm and CanSino have already submitted applications to join COVAX, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on January 20.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said previously that vaccine nationalism had brought the world to the brink of "catastrophic moral failure," and urged countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world.