China has approved clinical trials for two experimental vaccines to treat the coronavirus, the official news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday, in a global race to fight the pandemic that has killed at least 118,000 people worldwide. The two vaccines are being developed by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products under the state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group, and the Beijing-based research arm of Sinovac Biotech, a biopharmaceutical company. There are currently no vaccines or drugs for the new coronavirus. China, Europe and the United States are all trying to become the first to produce a vaccine, bringing a nationalist element to the race that has sometimes undermined international cooperation. About 1,000 Chinese scientists are now engaged in creating vaccines for the virus, with nine potential versions in development, according to the government. Last month, China had authorized military scientists to start another clinical trial. Separately, 111 people from African countries have tested positive for the coronavirus in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, Xinhua also reported on Tuesday. China has faced criticism that people of African descent have been targeted with discriminatory measures, including forced quarantines and testing. More than 4,500 Africans in Guangzhou have been subject to nucleic acid testing since early April, the report said, citing the local authorities. Source
