Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held phone conversations with foreign ministers of various countries around the world. They all recognized China's efforts to battle the novel coronavirus outbreak and showed confidence that China will win the fight against the epidemic at an early date:
Russia fully recognizes and highly appreciates the effective measures taken by China to combat the epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
He said Russia believes that the threat of the epidemic will soon be eliminated.
President Vladimir Putin on Friday sent a sympathy message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying that Russia fully supports China in fighting the epidemic, and is willing to provide necessary medical supplies and send a delegation of anti-epidemic experts to China to jointly carry out research and development of vaccines and drugs, Lavrov said.
Wang appreciated Putin's sympathy message to Xi, saying it reflects the strong mutual trust between the two heads of state and the high-level China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era.
The Chinese people are united as one in the serious fight against the epidemic, and are fully capable, confident and sure of defeating the virus, Wang said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who initiated the call, extended his condolences and sympathies to those who died of novel coronavirus infections and their families, while highly appreciating China's strong measures to fight the epidemic.
He said he believes that China's anti-epidemic efforts will soon take effect, adding that the Turkish side has already provided the Chinese side with necessary medical materials, and is ready to offer more assistance according to China's needs.
Wang thanked the Turkish side for offering China medical materials at this critical moment in the fight against the disease, which shows the Turkish side's friendship towards the Chinese people. China and Turkey are friends and partners, and should stand together in tough times, he added.
On behalf of the Malaysian government and people, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah extended his sincere sympathy to China over the epidemic of the novel coronavirus, and stressed that the Malaysian side will firmly stand with the Chinese people at this difficult time.
Saifuddin said the Malaysian side fully agrees with the World Health Organization (WHO)'s full approval of China's strong measures, and believes that China's measures to combat the epidemic are very effective.
The Malaysian government has decided not to restrict Chinese citizens from visiting Malaysia, believing the outbreak is temporary and that China is fully capable of winning the fight against the epidemic at an early date, he said.
Wang thanked the Malaysian government for donating medical supplies to China, and appreciated Malaysia's cooperation with China in sending charter flights to bring back residents of Hubei Province which is hardest hit by the virus.
"We also highly value Malaysia's strong support for China in fighting the current epidemic. China will take effective measures to provide necessary guarantees to the work, life and health of Malaysian citizens in China, just as it does to safeguard the health and safety of the Chinese people," Wang said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed support for China's battle against the spread of the novel coronavirus, saying that the open, transparent and cooperative attitude and the forceful and effective measures the Chinese government has adopted are admirable.
The German side has provided China with a certain amount of urgently needed medical supplies and stands ready to offer more assistance in line with China's needs, he added.
Wang thanked Germany for the help, and briefed Maas about the latest progress in China's prevention and containment efforts.
He stressed that the Chinese government not only keeps the Chinese people's safety and health in mind, but is doing its best to safeguard global public health security.
New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the government and people of New Zealand extend condolences and solicitude to the deceased and bereaved families in the epidemic, and highly evaluate China's decisive actions and strong mobilization ability, especially the quick establishment of two new hospitals in Wuhan city, the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak in central China.
New Zealand stands ready to offer medical supply assistance within its capability to the Chinese side, and believes that China will eventually win the fight against the epidemic, Peters said.
Wang expressed gratitude for New Zealand's support.
He expressed his belief that New Zealand will fully respect WHO's important recommendations, maintain normal exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, and firmly support China in preventing and controlling the epidemic.
Peters said he understands and respects China's position and believes that it is necessary to maintain normal exchanges and personnel flows, adding that New Zealand will continue to communicate and coordinate with China to properly respond to the challenge of the epidemic.
