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China has congratulated Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala after she was appointed director-general of the World Trade Organization.
She is the first woman and first African to lead the WTO.
An official statement says Okonjo-Iweala has long been engaged in poverty reduction in developing countries and work related to vaccines and healthcare.
The commerce ministry says China is fully confident that the WTO will resume its normal functions soon and play a greater role in anti-pandemic cooperation and economic recovery.
The ministry also says China hopes that the new WTO chief will help advance necessary reforms for the organization, and strengthen the authority and effectiveness of the multilateral trading system.
Official data shows that China became the main trading partner of the European Union last year, with imports and exports both increasing despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EU's statistical service says the bloc's imports from China last year grew by 5.6 percent to over 383 billion euros.
The EU's exports grew by 2.2 percent to more than 202 billion euros.
Eurostat also said the trade in goods with the United States, which had topped the EU's trade partners list until early 2020, saw substantial declines both ways.
The Equatorial Guinean President has received his first dose of a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinopharm.
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo appealed to the entire population to get a shot, as vaccination is the only available remedy to avoid new deaths from the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization has granted an emergency authorization to the AstraZeneca vaccine.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus suggests the approval gives a boost to global efforts to control the virus.
"And today we have even more reason to be hopeful of bringing the pandemic under control. Today, WHO gave emergency use listing to two versions of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine giving the green light for these vaccines to be rolled out globally through Covax."
The WHO chief says last week saw the lowest number of reported weekly cases since October last year.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is increasingly optimistic that coronavirus restrictions could be eased in the near future.
Johnson on Monday gave an update on the country's vaccination campaign and fight against the pandemic.
But he also added that he can't guarantee that there won't be further difficulties related to the coronavirus going forward.
Britain has given a first dose of coronavirus vaccines to over 15 million people, almost a quarter of its population.
The UK drive is now being extended to people over 65 and those with underlying health conditions.
Mexico has started vaccinating senior citizens against the coronavirus in more than 300 municipalities across the country.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday encouraged seniors to get vaccinated.
"This way we protect ourselves, and this is for everyone; it's universal, from 60 years old onwards. It's for the rich and for the poor, everyone."
Mexico began its vaccination campaign in mid-December by offering the Pfizer vaccine to health workers.
About two million doses of China's CanSino vaccine are currently being bottled in Mexico.
Another shipment of the Pfizer vaccine is due to be delivered this week, while Russia's Sputnik vaccine and another from China are expected later.
The government plans to have more than 15 million people vaccinated by the middle of April.
