China supports talks on waiving intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines, Beijing's commerce ministry has said, amid a global push to widen access to jabs.

“China supports the World Trade Organisation's proposal on intellectual property exemptions, for anti-epidemic materials such as Covid-19 vaccines, to enter the text consultation stage,” Chinese commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said, according to AFP.

Beijing believes the WTO can play an “active role” in improving vaccine availability globally, he said, though he did not elaborate on further moves by the world's second-largest economy.

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