CHAMPION OF MULTILATERALISM
Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his address to the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit in March, proposed that a Group of 20 (G20) health ministers' meeting be convened as soon as possible to improve information-sharing, strengthen cooperation on drugs, vaccines and epidemic control, and cut off cross-border infections.
He also proposed a G20 COVID-19 assistance initiative for better information-sharing and policy and action coordination with the support of the WHO.
In a phone conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday, Xi said that China firmly supports the United Nations and the WHO in playing their due roles in international cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the same day, he urged the international community to step up support for Africa's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. There are currently 75,498 cumulative COVID-19 cases in 53 African countries, with 2,561 deaths, according to WHO data.
China, on top of paying its assessed contributions to the WHO on time and in full, has recently donated a total of 50 million U.S. dollars to the WHO to support its response to the pandemic.
Besides, Chinese medical teams have conducted some 400 training sessions in Africa to share its anti-epidemic experiences and have trained 20,000 local medical workers, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday.
As of mid-May, the Chinese government has provided anti-epidemic supplies to more than 150 countries and international organizations, held over 120 video conferences with more than 160 countries and international organizations, and sent 21 teams of medical experts to 19 countries.
