China has 17 COVID-19 vaccines currently in clinical trials, among which seven are undergoing phase-III clinical trials, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang said in an interview at the Ministers' Corridor at China's annual legislative session on Monday.

Four of the seven vaccines have been granted conditional commercial approval in China.

"Scientific and technological achievements have strongly underpinned the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," the minister said, and science and technology is "the most powerful weapon for mankind to defeat the pandemic."

Wang said more than 4,300 researchers and 386 scientific research teams have taken part in the fight, saying it is "a great collaboration" between basic research and industrial application, as well as research entities and enterprises.

He said the approach integrating scientific research, learning and production has been proven successful in the practice of containing the pandemic.

"The earlier the research departments and enterprises coordinate, the earlier the products come out, and the better the effect of the application," Wang said, summing up experience from the development of COVID-19 testing reagents and vaccines.

China coordinated with international counterparts on tech-based control measures.

The country has conducted scientific and technological exchanges with over 30 countries and carried out joint research on key issues with many countries, said Wang.

"We participated in 10 working groups of the World Health Organization, and a number of papers and achievements have been recognized and applied by international counterparts," he added.