China To Provide Medical Assistance As Per Communications: Ambassador Hou
by TRN Online
Kathmandu, April 5: Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, has said that China is providing material assistance to Nepal to combat COVID-19 as both the neighbours were discussing on the matter.
“The Chinese Central Government will provide material assistance to Nepal and both sides are in communication on it,” Ambassador Hou said in a joint interview given to Nepali media on Sunday.
The Chinese ambassador said Ministry of Commerce of the PRC was working on the commercial demand raised on April 2 by Nepal to purchase medical equipment and supplies.
“Nepal On April 2, the Nepali side has raised commercial demand to the Chinese Government through the Nepali Embassy in Beijing. Ministry of Commerce of the PRC is coordinating and working on that.’
Lauding Nepal’s support as something ‘the Chinese people will never forget,’ she said, “When the epidemic is spreading to Nepal, China is also doing its utmost to provide help to Nepal.”
She said that the embassy has already formed a joint working group with the relevant ministries of Nepal, shared information and experience on epidemic prevention and control, clinical treatment, customs quarantine through providing documents and video connections.
She also said that some local governments and civil societies in China have taken actions to actively raise materials most-needed by Nepal.
“Early in the morning of March 29th, the first batch of donated supplies has arrived Nepal successfully, which are from local governments and NGOs. As far as I know, Xizang Autonomous Region, Yunnan Province and some Chinese enterprises have also expressed their intention to donate medical equipment to Nepal.
The most difficult point at present is transportation The Chinese Embassy will continue to strengthen communication and coordination with all parties to ensure smoothness of customs clearance and transportation, she said.
She said that China has provided assistance to the most of the South Asian countries. “On March 20, China held an online video conference with 19 Eurasian and South Asian countries. Chinese health experts and custom officials briefed on the experience and practices on development trend of epidemic, prevention and control, clinical diagnosis and treatment, equipment support and port inspection and quarantine.”
Ambassador Hou proposed to build a regional network for response in public health emergencies in South Asia along with China. “China will continue to make full use of various resources and channels to stay in close cooperation with all member countries and secretariat of SAARC. We could jointly build a network of control and treatment at the regional level to enable quicker response to public health emergencies and safeguard regional public health security.”
She said that the Chinese government has managed to provided surgical and N95 masks, personal protective equipment (PPE)s, nucleic acid test kits and other assistance to more than 120 countries and a number of international organizations.
The Chinese ambassador appreciated the measures taken by Nepal Governemnt to combat COVID-19 as she said, “We understand and support that the Nepali government is taking measures based on its own national conditions to contain the epidemic and protect its people’s lives. Meanwhile, a number of Chinese people are stuck in Nepal during this time. We are working together with the relevant government departments to ensure their safety and welfare.”
Full text of the interview:
Q: Would you please introduce the latest developments on the COVID-19 in China and China’s participation in international cooperation to fight the pandemic? Some people recently said that China is using its assistance to other countries as “political propaganda” and even claimed that China should use those assistance to make up for its mistake, what’s your opinion about those statements?
A:Under the command and guidance of President Xi Jinping, with the arduous efforts and great sacrifices made by the Chinese government and people, the situation of the epidemic in China have turned into a steady and positive direction. More than 76,000 patients have now recovered. Although there are still some sporadic cases, the spread of the epidemic in the country has been generally contained. At the same time, the epidemic is spreading rapidly around the world, we are facing severe challenges of preventing imported COVID-19 cases. As of 24:00 on April 4, The Chinese mainland had reported 913 cases of imported confirmed infections.
The international community, including Nepal, gave us valuable support and assistance during the most difficult period of China’s fight against COVID-19. The Chinese nation is grateful and always reciprocates other’s kindness. China’s fight against COVID-19 isn’t over yet. We are under heavy pressure to guard against imported cases and a rebound in indigenous cases, and so there is a huge demand for medical supplies. However, the Chinese government.
