China participates in global coronavirus summit while US maintains silence

China made a surprise appearance at an international coronavirus summit on Monday attended by leaders from more than 40 governments worldwide – but the United States remained absent.

The conference, seen as a major moment in the drive to establish a unified global approach to the pandemic, saw countries and global health organisations commit more than €7.4 billion (roughly £6.5bn) to develop vaccines, treatments and diagnostics to fight Covid-19.

Nations, including the UK, also pledged to share their endeavours equitably across the world, meaning no single country would benefit from scientific breakthroughs.

A last-minute addition saw China’s ambassador to the European Union participate in the event, where he said the country is a “responsible member of the international community”.

“In fighting the virus, confidence and solidarity are much more valuable than gold,” said China's Zhang Ming, as he reiterated the country's pledge of $30 million (£24 million) in emergency funding for the World Health Organization. “Panic and blame games are not useful at all. It is our conviction that together we can rise to the challenge and prevail.”

But several other major players were absent – including India, Russia, Brazil, and, perhaps most notably, the US, raising concerns that “vaccine nationalism” may hamper cooperation.

While US officials declined to say why the administration was not represented at the summit, Donald Trump has been public in his criticism of the WHO, which has helped to coordinate the international response.

The president has consistently accused the organisation of being “China-centric” and in mid-April he announced that America would halt funding to the UN agency. A week later his administration scuppered the publication of a G20 communique setting out guidelines for a global response due to wording in support of the UN agency.

Traditionally the US has been a major funder of global health initiatives and its absence was addressed during the 'Coronavirus Global Response' summit.

“It is a pity the US is not a part of it,” Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, said. “When you are in a crisis, you manage it and you do it jointly with others.

“Everyone will certainly evaluate their work at some point and see what could have been done differently. But you do this afterwards, not when you are in the middle of it.”

But France’s President Emmanuel Macron added that he had spoken to Mr Trump and was "confident” the US would join in due course.

The summit, which was convened by the European Commission and co-hosted by the UK and seven other countries, has been welcomed by experts as a significant step in ensuring that vaccines, treatments and diagnostics are affordable and accessible.

“Just about every single world leader today noted the word equity,” said Jenny Ottenhoff, senior policy director for global health at the ONE campaign. “At least rhetorically, it’s really worth acknowledging that commitment. But how the money is implemented is going to determine whether the rhetoric holds true.”

The Telegraph understands that the announcement of a framework to distribute and coordinate funds - based around the three pillars of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics - has been delayed due to ongoing negotiations around the prominence of the WHO and the role of various multilateral bodies.

“There’s been some mayhem of management,” one source familiar with conversations said. “We’re still missing a clear structure - lots of groups want to be involved and to look like they’re collaborating, but in this case money management may get a bit blurry. That’s what’s worrying me.”

But other insiders maintain that there has been significant progress in efforts to set out detailed guidelines around global collaboration and what “equitable distribution” looks like.

“We’re living through an unprecedented period and a lot is going to have to happen in a short period of time,” one source told The Telegraph. “The money today is a call to action, and parallel negotiations are ongoing around what the exact governance will look like.”

Experts have also highlighted that not all of the money pledged on Monday is “new” - some statements recommitted funds made available in the last few months.

And the £6.5 billion is only an initial “down payment” - billions more will be required before vaccines, diagnostics and treatments are widely available.

“Today is a defining moment for the global community,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “This will help kick start global, unprecedented cooperation.

“But more, much more, will be needed in the months to come. Today’s sprint was a great start for the marathon. We need everyone on board.”

Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of Wellcome and a member of the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), added: “It is encouraging to see much of the world coming together to find solutions to this global crisis, we should celebrate the fact that so many countries joined today’s pledging conference and committed to an unprecedented global effort.

“After today’s conference, the European Commission has calculated that €7.4bn has been pledged. This is a good start, but we need to see the full detail of these commitments.

“This funding needs to be made available immediately for the urgent research that is needed and to ensure the world has capacity to make diagnostics, treatments and vaccines available on an equitable basis to the world, to everyone.  Every day counts.”

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security