China’s top military bio-warfare experts have begun developing a vaccine for the coronavirus reports have emerged.

Chen Wei, the lead researcher, announced last night that Beijing has granted permission to start the tests.

‘Vaccine is the strongest scientific weapon to end the coronavirus,’ the bio-warfare expert told state broadcaster CCTV.

‘If China is the first country to invent such weapons and have our own patents, it shows the progress of our science and the image of a giant country.’

They had been working on the vaccine since January 26 – which is when the team arrived in Wuhan – including studying vaccines used in the fight against Ebola.

She is also known in the country as the ‘terminator of Ebola’ for leading a team to create a vaccine against the fatal illness.

Chen, also a leading specialist in genetic engineering vaccines in China, developed a medical spray during the SARS outbreak in 2003. The product prevented around 14,000 medical workers from contracting the virus, said another state-media report.

Chen, who is also a Major General of the People’s Army added: “The epidemic is like a military situation.

“The epicentre is the same as the battlefield.”