On 25th August 2020, Ambassador Dr. Zhao Yanbo gave telephone interviews to Duma FM and Gabz FM on China’s COVID-19 Vaccine R&D and relevant international cooperation.

Ambassador Zhao said that China's vaccine research, with several professional teams working simultaneously, is among the world's top rank. Of the six COVID-19 vaccine candidates under phase III clinical trials recognized by the World Health Organization, three are made in China and are currently tested both domestically and internationally in an orderly manner. The recombinant COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese military infectious disease expert Professor Chen Wei and her team has passed the first and second phases of clinical trials. The vaccine, with its safety, efficacy and stability fully proved, has received patent in China and can be produced in large scale.

Ambassador Zhao introduced the timeline of China's COVID-19 vaccine research and development, and said that China has maintained an open attitude towards international cooperation on vaccine R&D and is committed to providing the world with high-quality public goods when available. At the 73rd World Health Assembly and the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity against COVID-19, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a solemn promise that once the development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccine is completed in China, it will be made a global public good, accessible and affordable in developing countries. And African countries will be among the first to benefit. China will stand firmly with African countries including Botswana until the final victory over the pandemic.

Both Duma FM and Gabz FM are well-known commercial radio stations in Botswana.