More than 1.18 million overseas Chinese in over 150 countries have been inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.

"On the precondition of strict compliance with local laws and regulations and with full respect to the will of the Chinese nationals, we will provide assistance to our citizens in receiving vaccination, so as to better protect the safety and health of our people abroad," Wang said at a press conference.

China has also extended the coverage of the inoculation program with Chinese vaccines to foreign nationals of eligible age, he added, and more than 200,000 foreign nationals have so far been vaccinated in China.