Vera Anyagafu
The Consul General of The Peoples’ Republic of China to Nigeria, Ambassador Chu Maoming said the government of China has commenced emergency humanitarian assistance and mechanism to Syria and Türkiye in response to the earthquakes that recently hit the two countries.
CG of China to Nigeria who made the statement at the China Consulate General office in Lagos also disclosed that the Chinese people were heart-broken for the loss of their loved ones and added that President of is country, Xi Jinping has sent a message of condolence to Türkiye’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad.
Quoting President Xi, CG said the two countries will overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes at an early date.
According to him, the first batch of 40 million-yuan emergency aid has been on its way to Türkiye, including heavy urban search and rescue teams, medical teams, and urgently needed disaster relief supplies.
Explaining further, he said : ‘’China is coordinating urgently needed disaster relief supplies to be shipped to Syria and speeding up the delivery of ongoing food aid programmes.
“The Red Cross Society of China has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to the Turkish Red Crescent and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
“China’s rescue team has arrived in Türkiye and immediately rushed to the city of Antakya in the worst-hit Hatay province.
“They rescued a pregnant woman trapped under the debris together with Turkish rescuers.
“China’s Hong Kong SAR government also sent a 59-member search and rescue team to Türkiye to assist in local rescue efforts.
‘’A plane took off from Beijing and headed to Syria, carrying the first batch of medical supplies enough to cover the needs of 5,000 people and a rescue team from the Red Cross Society of China”.
Apart from the cash assistance and material aid that have been announced, the CG went on to state that China is also speeding up the delivery of ongoing food aid programmes for Syria, including 220 tonnes of wheat already on its way and more than 3,000 tonnes of rice and wheat to be shipped in two batches shortly.
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He said: “As a Chinese saying goes, one side has difficulties and all sides provide support. Gradually accumulated and formed in the long-term common production and labor process, it has become a traditional virtue of the Chinese Nation.
“Because there are unforeseen circumstances and people have fortunes and misfortunes, people living in society will always encounter some unpredictable disasters and insurmountable difficulties, and need help from others.
“China, as a past victim of heavily-struck earthquakes, has the feeling for Türkiye and Syria.
‘’The assistance from China is rich resonance with China’s foreign policy that is guided by the concept of ‘building a community with a shared future for mankind’ put forward by President Xi Jinping. ”
In addition, the CG said that in the face of serious natural disasters, human society should strive to reach the common goal of providing timely help to the victims and preventing a more serious humanitarian disaster from happening due to the earthquake.
“Thus, the international community needs to achieve unity and coordination at a larger level.
Going forward, China will provide additional support and assistance in light of the needs of Türkiye and Syria”, he concluded.
