Doha, 15 June 2020 (Qatar Tribune)

Ashraf Siddiqui

Ambassador of China to Qatar HE Zhou Jian has expressed his country’s appreciation of Qatar’s generous assistance and support to the world bodies and more than 20 countries in combating the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Talking to Qatar Tribune, the ambassador said Qatar’s generous donation of $140 million to international medical platforms, medical supplies to more than 20 countries, building temporary medical
facilities, improving the health system of least developed countries (LDCs) and assisting countries to repatriate their citizens back home are highly commendable.

He said China will join hands with Qatar to provide assistance to developing countries around the world.
“We wish to strengthen cooperation with Qatar to help many countries to strengthen their public health systems and build a line of defence against the pandemic,” the envoy said.

On recent announcement by The Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar’s pledge of $20 million contribution to support Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), the envoy said China is also stepping up to advance vaccine research and clinical tests, and is ready to provide the vaccine as a global public product once it is developed and deployed.

China and Qatar could seek or further cooperation in this regard. China will join Qatar to support global research work on vaccines, he added. Ambassador Jian said cooperation between China and Qatar in fighting the unprecedented public health disaster due to the pandemic has become an example of international health cooperation.

He said, “China will never forget that it was Qatar that lent us a hand when we were in the most difficult times. HH The Amir in his telephone conversation with President Xi Jinping had expressed Qatar’s firm stand with China. HH The Amir also offered to provide help whenever China needs it.” He said the words brought great warmth to Chinese in the face of the pandemic.

He also lauded Qatar Airways for opening its global network free of charge, sending flights loaded with medical supplies to China.

The envoy said that Dr Zhong Nanshan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a top expert of Chinese medical team in combating COVID-19, will soon be invited to hold a video conference with the Ministry of Public Health for in-depth exchange of ideas with Qatari experts on diagnosis and treatment. “We hope our Chinese solutions and wisdom will be of help to our Qatari partners,” he said.

He added that China would continue to provide fast channels for Qatar to purchase and import medical supplies from China, especially raw materials that could help Qatar to improve production capacity of medical supplies such as masks. The ambassador debunked US claims accusing China of hiding epidemic information and delaying release of genetic data.

He said, “We have been sharing information and experience with the international community in a transparent and responsible manner. We wasted no time in reporting the epidemic situation to the
World Health Organization (WHO) and all countries, releasing the information of coronavirus genome sequence, keeping the international community informed with regular updates and advancing international efforts in prevention and control. Our massive efforts have made great contributions to the global fight against COVID-19, which can and will stand the test of time.”

He added that China, on June 7, released a white paper: ‘Fighting COVID-19: China in Action’, which recorded the arduous work of the Chinese people in fighting the pandemic with detailed timelines, rich
data charts and vivid stories.