China to provide emergency aid to quake-hit Turkiye, Syria

The Chinese government will provide Turkiye with its first batch of aid worth 40 million yuan ($5.9 million), Deng Boqing, vice-chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency said on Tuesday.

The aid includes a heavy urban rescue team which is about to head off to Turkiye in a couple of hours, Deng said, adding that the government will send a medical team to Turkiye as soon as possible, and provide disaster-relief supplies the country urgently needs.

Turkiye and Syria were shaken by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks on Monday, which have killed more than 4,000 people so far.

The Chinese government is also coordinating efforts to provide supplies to Syria and accelerating the implementation of the ongoing food aid program, Deng said.

In another development, the Red Cross Society of China announced on Tuesday to provide $200,000 in cash to the Red Crescent Societies of Turkiye and Syria respectively.

Chinese communities in Turkiye and Syria are collecting tents, blankets and other disaster-relief supplies, and a Chinese non-government rescue team arrived in disaster-hit regions this morning, Deng said.

The Chinese government will continue to provide assistance within its capacity to Turkiye and Syria according to the development of the situation and the two countries' need, he said.