Chinese aid boosts fight against virus worldwide

The medical assistance and information provided by China will not only help shore up the confidence of countries fighting the novel coronavirus, but deepen mutual trust and friendship, according to analysts from international organizations and research institutes.

"Considering that China is still going through a very rough period domestically, the donations to Thailand, in the form of various kinds of masks and other related apparatus, are truly appreciated by every Thai," said Korn Dabbaransi, president of the Thai-Chinese Friendship Association and former deputy prime minister of Thailand. The association was among the first in Thailand to donate medical materials to China weeks ago.

With help from the Chinese embassy in Thailand, China's Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation have donated medical supplies to Thailand. The supplies reached Bangkok on Wednesday, according to the embassy.

The mutual assistance over the past three months has only deepened bonds as the Thai people have always regarded the Chinese as their own, said Dabbaransi.

So far, China has provided assistance to 89 countries and four international organizations to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the China International Development Cooperation Agency said on Thursday.

Apart from sending medical groups to several countries, large groups of Chinese doctors are also sharing experiences with overseas doctors online. In Asia, medical supplies and medical workers from China have been sent to 28 countries across the region.

"I appreciate China's gesture in sending assistance in terms of medical kits and other things at this challenging time," said Abdul Majid Ahmad Khan, the president of the Malaysia-China Friendship Association.

Right way in cooperation

On Thursday, the association received medical supplies from a group of Chinese organizations and companies.

"I think China is showing the right way forward in global cooperation," said the former Malaysian ambassador to China.

He said this was "clearly manifested last week when China extended assistance to almost all countries (affected by the virus), not just in Southeast Asia, but also in Europe".

A team of 12 medical experts arrived in Vientiane on Sunday. The team brought with them medical supplies donated by the Yunnan provincial government, including medicines, nucleic acid testing kits, masks and protective suits.

Medical supplies also arrived in Jakarta on Saturday, the Chinese embassy in Indonesia said.

But besides help with medical supplies and equipment, Indonesia also needs to learn from China how to counter the disease, said Veronika S. Saraswati, head of the China Study Unit at the Jakarta-based think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

"China has shown the effectiveness of their methods, and it is important for these methods to be shared," she said.

In South Korea, after the first batch of masks donated by the Chinese government arrived on March 11, Chinese companies and organizations have continued to donate medical supplies to the country.

China and South Korea have realized people-to-people connectivity with deepened mutual understanding, as seen from the mutual assistance from the governments and society in the fight against the virus, said Yu Wanying, a senior researcher at the Sungkyun Institute of China Studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.

Yu said the assistance provided by China will help convey the value of building a community with a shared future.

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said eight Chinese medical experts arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday, along with medical supplies including masks, protective garments, ventilators, defibrillator monitors and drugs.