President Luis Abinader tweeted on Wednesday, 2 June 2021, that he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping on bilateral issues. This is the first time the two statesmen hold a personal conversation. Abinader expressed his appreciation for the authorization of the export of Covid-19 vaccines to the Dominican Republic. In the tweet informing on the conversation, Abinader says they also spoke of increasing the trade exchange between both countries.
Meanwhile, after the tweet by President Luis Abinader, the Embassy of China sent another tweet with more details:
“Xi added that the Dominican Republic firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is ready to strengthen exchanges with China and expand bilateral cooperation in economy, trade and other areas.
“Xi also expressed the hope that the Dominican Republic will play a positive role in promoting relations between China and the Caribbean and Central American countries, as well as overall cooperation between China and Latin America.
“This will create more opportunities for bilateral cooperation. Xi added that China welcomes imports of agricultural products from the Dominican Republic, and supports that Chinese companies invest and start business in the Dominican Republic.”
The Dominican Republic is a primary beneficiary of Chinese vaccine diplomacy. At a time when previously contracted supplies of Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines were not being shipped, the country was able to purchase 5,268,000 Sinovac vaccines and received a donation of 50,000 Sinopharm vaccines from China. As of 2 June 2021, 94% of the total 5,646,400 vaccines received are from Chinese pharmaceutical companies. The Chinese vaccines have enabled the DR to advance in its vaccination program.
As of the 1 June 2021 deadline, the University of Virginia Covid-19 Surveillance Dashboard indicates that 3,223,950 persons have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the Dominican Republic and 1,087,424 persons had received two doses, around 13% of the target population over 18 years old.
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2 June 2021