ADDIS ABABA (ENA)- China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said his country will continue assisting African countries in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
In a press conference of the 3rd session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) concerning China-Africa relations, Foreign Minister Wang reaffirmed China’s support for Africa to halt the spread of coronavirus.
“We will continue to stand by Africa as it fights the virus,” he said adding that “we will send anti-epidemic assistance to African countries as a matter of priority.”
According to him, China is “considering sending more medical expert teams to the continent and will continue to deliver on the health initiative announced at the FOCAC Beijing Summit, which marks this year the 20th anniversary.”
Wang Yi stated that China’s relations with Africa have stood the test of time and continue to flourish.
He reiterated that China will accelerate construction of the Africa CDC headquarters, and help boost public health capacity in African nations.
The Foreign Minister also confirmed that his country will work out ways to move ahead with major ongoing cooperation projects and support African countries in reopening businesses soon to sustain Africa’s economic momentum.
Over 50 African leaders have expressed solidarity and support to China and subsequently the country has sent medical expert teams to Africa’s five sub-regions and surrounding countries.
Resident Chinese medical teams based in 45 African countries have acted swiftly to assist in the local response, held nearly 400 training sessions for tens of thousands of African medical workers, it was indicated.
“We also look after the African community in China just like we take care of our own families. All of the over 3,000 African students in Hubei and Wuhan have been safe and sound, except for just one who got infected but was soon cured,” he added.
China has been distributing protective equipment and sending health experts to almost all countries of the African continent to support governments’ efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ethiopian Herald May 29, 2020
