Medical experts arrive in Cambodia

A team of seven medical experts sent by the Chinese government arrived in a chartered plane at Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, on Monday morning to assist in the country's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The experts, from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, are specialized in fields including respiratory diseases, public health, lab testing and infection control.

They brought medical supplies, including N95 face masks, surgical masks, disposable latex gloves and protective clothing.

Cambodia is the first Southeast Asian country to have received a Chinese team of medical experts to join its fight against COVID-19.

China will do all it can to support Cambodia, which is at a critical stage of disease control and prevention, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily news conference on Monday.

Medical supplies donated to African countries by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation arrived on Sunday in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

Geng said China and Africa have always supported each other in fighting the novel coronavirus, and China will further strengthen its support for Africa's efforts to tackle the contagion.

China has provided medical supplies to Africa, including test kits and protective equipment, Geng said.

China has sent medical teams to African countries on a regular basis to provide health support. It has also encouraged the teams that are already there to join the efforts to contain novel coronavirus, Geng said.

The international community provided political support and donations of medical supplies to China when the Chinese people were at the most difficult time in tackling the outbreak, Geng said.

As the domestic situation keeps improving, China has been trying within its ability to provide aid to countries that are in urgent need, he said. China will also do its best to support friendly countries that are suffering serious outbreaks and lack disease control supplies, especially developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, he added.

Chinese local governments have donated medical supplies to local governments in 19 countries, and Chinese companies have made donations to 20 countries, according to Geng.

Li Wenfang in Guangzhou and Shi Ruipeng in Nanning contributed to this story.