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BEIJING: China will uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and provide assistance within its capacity to countries in need to fight COVID-19, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
In his phone conversation with Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, Wang said that the epidemic situation in European countries is worrying following the outbreak of COVID-19 in many countries and places.
China empathizes with the Netherlands on the grave situation it faces and offers sincere sympathies to the Dutch people, he said.
Despite the fact that itself is still in need of large amounts of anti-epidemic supplies, China will uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, provide assistance within its capacity to countries in need, and share its experience in epidemic prevention and control, Wang said.
On the Netherlands’ procurement demand in China, Wang said that China is willing to provide assistance and make arrangements to facilitate customs clearance, transportation and others.
China is also willing to cooperate with the Netherlands in telemedicine and promote exchanges of medical experts, he said, expressing the belief that under the leadership of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Dutch people will be united to overcome the epidemic at an early date by making use of the country’s mature medical system.
Wang said the Chinese government attaches great importance to the protection of the legitimate rights of Chinese nationals abroad, and that Chinese nationals in the Netherlands will take personal precautions as recommended by Dutch health authorities to actively support local anti-virus efforts.
Wang expressed the hope that the Dutch government will attach great importance to and protect the health and safety as well as the legitimate rights of Chinese nationals there, and provide them with due medical guarantee.
Wang stressed that virus knows no borders and is the humanity’s common enemy which dictates a joint response from the international community.
Wang said that from the start of the outbreak, China has shared anti-epidemic information with the international community in the spirit of openness, transparency and responsibility and won precious time for other countries in epidemic prevention and control.
Noting the recent emergence of a reverse flow of virus labelling, Wang pointed out that China believes that such moves not only disregard the professional advice of the World Health Organization, but also run counter to the anticipation and efforts of the international community to jointly fight the virus.
For his part, Blok said that he highly appreciates the strong measures China has taken to successfully contain the epidemic and expressed appreciation for China’s support and provision of facilitation to his country’s procurement of medical supplies in China.
He also spoke highly of the exchanges and cooperation between the health departments of the two countries.
Blok said that the Dutch side considers it very important for China to share anti-virus information and experience and is willing to learn from it. In terms of the health and safety of Chinese nationals in the Netherlands, Blok promised that they will be provided with medical help in the same way as Dutch nationals.
Blok said that the accusations made by some politicians of a certain country against China and the Chinese people are totally false.
China’s all-out efforts to combat the epidemic have achieved remarkable results, and China has shared information with the rest of the world in a timely manner and provided assistance, which the Netherlands highly appreciates and looks forward to further cooperation with China in the future, Blok added. Enditem
China Focus: Made-in-China supplies reinforce world’s war on COVID-19
2020-03-18 16:11:42
BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) — Face masks, infrared thermometers and hazmat suits are among the most sought-after exports from China as the country joins hands with the rest of the world to stem the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which has hit 159 countries and regions.
Information made public by a growing number of listed companies in China showed factories are running at full capacity to ensure domestic supply while meeting a spike in overseas demand for protective gear and other medical supplies.
Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd. said the Italian government had procured nearly 10,000 devices for fighting the disease, most of which are for patient monitoring, from the Guangdong-based medical equipment giant, whose products were part of the Chinese medical aid that arrived in Italy on March 12.
“It was the single largest order to the company since the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Li Wenmei, the company’s board secretary. According to Li, Mindray had also received purchase orders from other European countries, and countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. It has received an order from Spain and the detail of the order would be disclosed in early April.
Shenzhen-listed Guangdong Biolight Meditech Co., Ltd. on Tuesday disclosed that it had since March 2 received orders for nearly 2,000 pieces of medical equipment from eight countries including Italy, France and Germany. Zhejiang Dali Technology Co., Ltd, another manufacturer of infrared thermometers, said production is running at full tilt to meet growing orders at home and from Asia, Europe, and America.
Raw materials for making protective gear are also in huge demand. Oriental Energy Co., Ltd, a major alkane resources operator, said it had exported over 3,000 tonnes of Y381H, an essential fiber for making the melt-blown non-woven fabric used for making face masks and protective suits, to countries including India and Vietnam since February.
To facilitate supply to the overseas market, Chinese firms and institutions are ramping up efforts to acquire import credentials.
Mask-maker Great Star Industrial Co., Ltd. said it had finished the registration of medical devices in the European Union for its products after being conferred the EC declaration of conformity document, which indicates a device manufacturer’s commitment to quality and its product complies to all the requirements of European product legislation.
At least 10 Chinese producers of detection kits for nucleic acid and antibody testing have also won approvals to enter the EU market. The kits are expected to meet surging clinical demands for fast and accurate detection of the virus and facilitate quarantine measures.
Meanwhile, 14 novel coronavirus testing kits developed by five Chinese universities including Tsinghua University have obtained the CE marking, which allows them to be marketed across the European Union, according to the Ministry of Education.
China has donated a batch of the testing kits, and the products have been supplied to more than 10 countries such as Italy, Britain and the Netherlands, said Lei Chaozi, an official with the ministry at a press conference in Beijing Tuesday.
SINCERE HELP
To protect and save its people from the virus, China has pulled out all the stops for medical supply production amid great efforts to fully recover the industrial chain.
China produces about half of the world’s masks with a daily output of 20 million units before the epidemic. Still, it had to launch massive production expansion to secure supply given the explosive growth in demand.
With production catapulted into full gear, China’s daily output of face masks reached 116 million units as of early March, 12 times the figure reported on Feb. 1.
As COVID-19 is further contained at home, China is becoming an important exporter and donor of anti-epidemic necessities — a friend in need of other countries and regions in fighting back the disease. Here are some of the recent endeavors:
— An aircraft carrying 500,000 medical masks from China arrived at Zaragoza airport in northern Spain on Tuesday, as confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country rose to 11,178;
— A team of 12 medical experts from east China’s Zhejiang Province was sent to Italy Tuesday by the Chinese government to aid the anti-coronavirus fight on the Apennine Peninsula;
— Three hundred thousand face masks donated by Chinese charities arrived in Belgium Monday;
— China donated 2,000 fast test kits for COVID-19 to the Philippines Monday;
— Beijing will donate protective supplies including medical isolation gowns and gloves to the cities of Seoul, Tehran, Tokyo and Yokohama to help with their novel coronavirus control. Some 200,000 medical isolation gowns, 100,000 pairs of gloves, 200,000 pairs of shoe covers and 200,000 disposable medical caps will be delivered to these cities;
— South China’s Guangdong Province has donated more than 80,000 testing kits to countries including Iran, Japan, Iraq and Peru;
— Central China’s Hunan Province has donated supplies to aid the novel coronavirus fight in Laos and the Republic of Korea;
China will further expand international cooperation and offer help to other countries and regions in their fight against COVID-19, said Li Xingqian, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.
“We will always remember the sincere help offered by other countries and international organizations to China when it fought against the epidemic,” Li said. “While overcoming its own difficulties, China will offer assistance within its ability to relevant countries, especially countries and regions hit hard by the virus.”
The Chinese government will continue to encourage its enterprises to export face masks and other medical supplies to make its due contributions to the global fight against COVID-19, according to the official. Enditem
Chinese mainland reports zero increase in domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases
2020-03-19 09:47:55
BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) — No new domestically transmitted cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were reported on the Chinese mainland Wednesday, according to data from Chinese health authority Thursday.
The National Health Commission received reports of 34 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Wednesday, all of which were imported.
Among them, 21 were reported in Beijing, nine in Guangdong Province, two in Shanghai, and one in Heilongjiang and Zhejiang provinces respectively. By the end of Wednesday, 189 imported cases had been reported, said the commission.
Also on Wednesday, eight deaths and 23 newly suspected cases were reported on the mainland with all deaths reported in Hubei Province. A total of 819 people were discharged from hospital after recovery, while the number of severe cases decreased by 308 to 2,314.
The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,928 by the end of Wednesday, including 7,263 patients who were still being treated, 70,420 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,245 people who died of the disease.
The commission said that 105 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.
The commission added that 9,144 close contacts were still under medical observation. On Wednesday, 1,032 people were discharged from medical observation.
By the end of Wednesday, 192 confirmed cases including four deaths had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 15 confirmed cases in the Macao SAR, and 100 in Taiwan including one death. A total of 95 patients in Hong Kong, 10 in Macao and 22 in Taiwan had been discharged from hospital after recovery. Enditem
Interview: China’s quick measures, exemplary expertise lead to controlling COVID-19 successfully: Pakistani media guru
2020-03-12 17:20:05
by Jamil Bhatti
ISLAMABAD, March 12 (Xinhua) — China’s quick measures and efforts backed by its expertise in the medical field have led to controlling the outbreak of the novel virus COVID-19 successfully, said a Pakistani media guru, adding that the world can win against the epidemic by following the Chinese way.
Sarmad Ali, managing director of Jang Media Group, Pakistan’s largest media house, told Xinhua recently that it has become an open truth in the world that measures and untiring efforts taken by China’s central government and its local governments are unprecedented in the world’s history.
“Initially, it looked like that it would spread in China as well as in the world at an extra large scale very quickly, but the way China controlled it and contained it is an example in the world. China was much composed and more than ready to handle the situation than any other country,” said the media expert, who has been observing the epidemic situation all over the world.
Ali also highlighted the responsible role of Chinese people and nationwide communities against COVID-19 and said the overall well-coordinated efforts finally brought pleasant success and now China’s daily new confirmed and suspected cases of the disease are on decreasing trend for around three weeks.
The media expert added that the COVID-19 appeared in the world like a natural disaster but, in spite of fighting against it at home, China actively and timely provided coronavirus-related information to the World Health Organization and other countries, which have really helped the world to counter the fast spread.
“China acted as a responsible citizen of the global village by sharing the updates, experiences and other information. Chinese information sharing is very encouraging and it has benefited the whole world,” said the expert, hoping that the world would continuously seek Chinese cooperation, experiences and measures against the disease.
Ali urged the world to hail China not only for its efforts and expertise that successfully and superbly handled a novel virus but also for its parallel measures to minimize the damage to its own, regional and world economies.
“The virus has affected the world economy. However, we see that China has taken measures on the economic front and issued guidance for the companies. Now, we see the Chinese industrial and trade sectors are already on the resumption… which would be a very good sign for regional as well as the world economies,” said the expert.
The analyst expressed full confidence that China will bounce back and forecasted that the Chinese economy would perform according to its original plans during the rest of the year. Enditem
Wuhan experts share COVID-19 treatment experience with Italian peers
2020-03-06 00:15:49
WUHAN, March 5 (Xinhua) — Three Chinese medical experts from Tongji Hospital in Wuhan on Wednesday shared their experiences treating the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with their Italian peers who made inquiries on a video call.
Enrico Ammirati, a cardiologist in the department of anesthesia and ICU of Niguarda Hospital, raised questions concerning the criterion of wards, treatment schemes of cytokine storm and COVID-19, protection of medics.
The Milan-based Niguarda Hospital is the oldest one in the city and one of the largest comprehensive medical facilities in Italy, where the number of confirmed coronavirus cases now stands at more than 3,000. The hospital has vacated a building and has so far admitted more than 200 COVID-19 patients.
“It’s pretty hard for hospitals in any country around the world to provide a negative pressure ward for every single COVID-19 patient,” said Wang Daowen, a cardiologist at the Tongji Hospital affiliated with Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
Wang told Ammirati about their solutions by refitting general wards — turning air conditioners off and adding doors to separate the ward into clean, semi-contaminated and contaminated areas.
The treatment of severe and critical COVID-19 patients can refer to that of fulminant myocarditis, Wang said, since cytokine storms were found in patients with both diseases in terms of pathophysiological mechanism.
Tongji experts also shared pictures of level-3 protection and the use of protective masks and suits.
Since no specific antiviral drugs have been discovered in the academic circle, supportive and symptomatic therapies were mainly used for most COVID-19 patients who have been cured, said Zhou Ning, a cardiologist at Tongji.
“We have the experience of fighting SARS and massive data on COVID-19 in Wuhan,” Wang said. “It’s incumbent on us to share with international peers.” Enditem
Factbox: China’s fight against novel coronavirus outbreak
2020-03-13 00:35:11
BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhua) — Here are the latest developments on the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China:
— Hospitals designated for novel coronavirus patients in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, will all return to normal operation by the end of March.
— China on Thursday sent a nine-person team to Italy to assist the containment of COVID-19.
— The Shanghai government announced on Thursday that all passengers arriving in the city from countries with high risks of COVID-19 will be quarantined for 14 days after their arrival.
— Beijing has converted the New China International Exhibition Center into a transit center for inbound passengers from countries with high risks of COVID-19.
— A leading group of China’s COVID-19 response Thursday called for more targeted prevention measures to stem the cross-border spread of the novel coronavirus and promised help for overseas fight against the pandemic.
— Renowned Chinese respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan said Thursday that if most countries act like China, attaching national-level importance to response efforts, the global COVID-19 pandemic could be brought under control “by June.”
Zhong said China’s experience can help the world avoid detours in their fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.
— The peak of the current outbreak of novel coronavirus disease in China is over. New cases keep declining and the overall epidemic situation remains at a low level.
— The Chinese banking sector has beefed up financial support for small businesses to weather the COVID-19 outbreak.
— The National Health Commission received reports of 15 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 11 deaths on the Chinese mainland on Wednesday. On the same day, a total of 1,318 people were discharged from hospital after recovery.
— The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 80,793 by the end of Wednesday, including 14,831 patients who were still being treated, 62,793 patients who had been discharged after recovery, and 3,169 people who died of the disease.
— Six imported cases were reported on the mainland Wednesday. Among them, three were reported in Guangdong Province, two in Gansu Province and one in Henan Province. By the end of Wednesday, 85 imported cases had been reported.
— Central China’s Hubei Province reported eight new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, all of which were in Wuhan, the provincial capital and epicenter of the outbreak.
— On Wednesday, Hubei reported 10 deaths, seven of which were in Wuhan. The latest report brought the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the hard-hit province to 67,781.
— Hubei had seen no new confirmed COVID-19 cases for seven consecutive days in its 16 cities and prefectures outside Wuhan.
— China will work to shorten the negative list on foreign investment and encourage financial institutions to increase foreign trade loans to cope with the impact of the epidemic and keep steady progress in foreign trade and investment. Sound preparations will be made for the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) this spring. Enditem
