Olaf Scholz says he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping discussed a pathway for approving the vaccines for the broader population

Xi Jinping welcomed German leader Olaf Scholz to Beijing on Friday as the countries agreed to approve BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for foreign residents in China. The chancellor has sought to preserve economic ties while responding to Beijing’s support for Moscow amid the Ukraine war. Photo: Pool/via Reuters

SINGAPORE—China agreed to approve BioNTech SE’s Covid-19 vaccines for foreign residents, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Beijing on Friday, in what would mark the first approval of an mRNA vaccine for Covid-19 for use in China.

Mr. Scholz and Chinese leader Xi Jinping also discussed a pathway for approving the BioNTech vaccine for the broader population in China, Mr. Scholz said in a news conference, suggesting that regulators at the European Medicines Agency would be involved.

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