China's Ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Friday said that his country is ready to cooperate with India to respond to the outbreak of coronavirus and work together to prevent and control the epidemic.
He hoped that India will understand and support Chinese efforts in this regard.
"China is ready to cooperate with India to respond to the outbreak and work together to prevent and control the epidemic. We also hope India will continue to give understanding and support to China's efforts in this regard," he said in an exclusive interview to ANI.
His remarks came into a question on the evacuation of Indian nationals from China.
He said China has done a lot of work to ensure the health and safety of Indian nationals in China.
The Ambassador stressed that as a responsible country, China has always given top priority to the health and safety of all Chinese and foreign nationals in Wuhan, the epicentre of the deadly virus outbreak.
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He said China has been in communication with India to keep it informed of the developments concerning the epidemic and its prevention and control efforts.
"We have done a lot of work to ensure the health and safety of Indian nationals in China. We believe that through bilateral cooperation, India's concerns can be properly addressed," he said.
Referring to one confirmed case of the virus in India, Sun Weidong said: "We pay close attention to the report of one confirmed case of pneumonia in India. I would like to express my sympathy to the patient and her family, and wish her an early recovery."
He also noted that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephonic conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in which he reiterated that the Chinese government has taken the most rigorous control measures.
"State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with External Affairs Minister Dr. Jaishankar. Mr. Wang reiterated that the Chinese government has taken the most comprehensive and rigorous prevention and control measures. Many of these measures go well beyond the requirements of the International Health Regulations. We have full confidence and ability to win the battle against the outbreak," he said.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar had thanked Wang for the cooperation extended by the Chinese government for the departure of Indian students and professionals from Wuhan.
"Called Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi today to thank him for the cooperation extended by the Chinese government for the departure of Indian students and professionals from Wuhan. As China deals with the #coronavirus challenge, we agreed to stay in touch," Jaishankar in a tweet.
An Air India special flight from Delhi landed in Wuhan on Friday for evacuation of Indians.
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