China is willing to provide support and assistance to India to help it combat its new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic once the India side asks for specific demands, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday during a daily press conference. 

India's COVID-19 tally surpassed 17 million on Monday with a fresh high of 352,991 new cases recorded in the past 24 hours, said the health ministry.

This was the fifth consecutive day when over 300,000 cases were registered in a single day.

Wang said that the COVID-19 pandemic was a global challenge and all countries should cooperate, calling on an effective communication channel to help distribute COVID-19 vaccines.

"China is willing to cooperate with the international community to ensure the equal access to COVID-19 vaccines," Wang added.