The keynote speech President Xi Jinping delivered at the special China-Africa summit on fighting together against the COVID-19 on Wednesday shows China's willingness to further step up its assistances to help the continent better combat the virus.

Jointly proposed by China and South Africa, which is chair of the African Union this year, and Senegal, which is this year's chair of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the summit was held at a critical moment in the global fight against the novel coronavirus through videoconferencing.

The summit demonstrated the shared resolve of China and African countries to deepen their cooperation in the fight against the virus, and served as a practical platform for them to better know each other's needs, helping them to roll out to-do lists and ways to realize the tasks.

Although Africa remains the least affected continent in the pandemic so far, thanks to the vitality of its young population and some effective local herbal medicines, the generally less developed public health facilities of African countries, their comparatively limited ability to offer essential medical supplies to the people in case of a large-scale outbreak of the virus, and their relatively weak economic foundation are all practical concerns.

China has already been assisting African countries with public infrastructure and public services, and it has a long tradition of offering medical assistance. It sent its first medical team to Africa in 1963, and since then 243,000 Chinese doctors and nurses have been sent to assist African countries.

The current pandemic has prompted China to continue to boost its health assistance to Africa. Which the country regards as a chance to fulfill its responsibility to contribute to the construction of a community with a shared future for humankind.

China has provided many batches of medical equipment to more than 50 African countries and the African Union to help them in their fights against the virus, and it has sent teams of experts to work on the front lines with local people. Currently, the Chinese medical workers are working in 45 African countries.

But in this time of common crisis, the support is not just one-way. During the most difficult period in China's fight against the virus earlier this year, more than 50 African leaders conveyed messages of encouragement to China through various means and some African countries raised funds and materials to donate to China despite their own difficulties.

While the pandemic has distorted some countries' views of themselves and others, it has created a new opportunity for China and African countries to strengthen their relations.