Extending a helping hand

Chinese entrepreneurs have been joining hands with the Beijing-based Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to support the global battle against COVID-19.

Six enterprises from the private sector donated urgently needed supplies to Morocco, Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia on April 20.

The donations included nucleic acid test kits, fast test kits, surgical masks, antibacterial cleaning solutions and traditional Chinese medicine products, with a total value of about 4.66 million yuan ($658,500).

The four countries had previously extended their understanding and support during the most difficult time in the Chinese people's domestic fight against the virus.

Lin Songtian, president of the association, says solidarity and cooperation meets fundamental and common interests, and therefore the common expectation of people of China and the world at large. It is the only right choice to battle against the pandemic.

Lin was the Chinese ambassador to South Africa from 2017 until March, and has just assumed his new post at the association.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, the association and its subordinate China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development have been raising funds and material supplies among multilevel government bodies, enterprises, organizations and individuals.

Medical supplies worth more than 8 million yuan, including masks, protective suits, antibacterial spray and testing kits, have been collected and sent to foreign organizations in eight countries, namely, the United States, Italy, Spain, Romania, Iran, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan, under the association's efforts.

Chen Guangbiao, chairman of the board of the Jiangsu Huangpu Recycling Resources Co Ltd, says, besides protective medical supplies, the company's donation includes equipment for two mask production lines.

It's the entrepreneur's 13th donation since the coronavirus outbreak in January. Chen is known for his charitable donations, but in recent years, he's kept his philanthropy low-key.

According to Chen, of the company's 100 million yuan net profit last year, nearly 70 percent has been donated to worthy causes.

Chen plans to donate more N95 mask production equipment in the near future. He adds that he will not hesitate to spend his personal savings if needed.

On Feb 1, Morocco sent a special plane, free of charge, to transport medical supplies donated by Chinese based in the African country from Casablanca to Wuhan, Hubei province, the city in China hardest hit by COVID-19, says Mourad Layachi, minister counselor of the Moroccan embassy in Beijing.

Nine flights have since carried medical products manufactured in China, or supplies donated by Chinese people, to Morocco after the outbreak reached the country.

China has also held two video conferences with Morocco and some other countries in West Asia and North Africa to share its experience of dealing with COVID-19.

Morocco now has, reportedly, more than 4,000 confirmed cases and has been facing a serious situation.

China and Morocco also signed a medical cooperation agreement in 2017. The minister counselor says Morocco hopes to extend medical cooperation to include not just medical supplies but also technology.

Malaysian Ambassador to China, Raja Dato' Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, says Malaysia has seen a leveling-off of cases after weeks of travel restrictions. With vaccines and special medicines yet to be developed, cutting off the transmission chain is the only effective way of coping with the spread.

Eight medical experts on clinical medicine, TCM, mental health and public health from South China's Guangdong province arrived in Malaysia on April 18.

"The team from Guangdong are very familiar with the Malaysian situation, as we are with the situation back in their home," the ambassador says, noting that the team would mainly focus on measures the country can take at the macro level and at its hospitals.

"We are very keen to know more about the lessons learned by China, both the positive and the negative," he says, adding that, as China was the first country to experience the outbreak and was also the first to bring it under control, it's a very important initiative to share the experience.

"It's no use blaming people now. The most important thing is to work closely together," he says, calling for an emphasis on the importance of cooperation so that the two countries can pool their knowledge together.

Former foreign minister Li Zhaoxing says only by working in solidarity can people around the world overcome the pandemic.

Lin, who returned from South Africa at the end of March after two years' working in the country, says he keeps in mind the unique resources brought, and roles played, by civil diplomacy, especially under the framework of friendship countries and cities.

The more than 2,700 pairs of friendship cities have been sharing their experiences and supporting each other with material supplies, drawn from donations made by enterprises and the people, in a pragmatic and efficient way, and still offers a great potential, he says.