Timeline of China Releasing Information on COVID-19 and Advancing International Cooperation

Chinese medical team experts talk with local doctors and Red Cross staff members in Padua, Italy, March 17, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

March 21

-- Xinhua News Agency reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping recently sent a message of sympathy to Spanish King Felipe VI, expressing sincere sympathies on behalf of the Chinese government and people to the Spanish government and people over the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Spain.

Xi noted that China firmly supports Spain's efforts and measures in fighting the epidemic, and stands ready to share prevention and control experience as well as diagnostic and treatment guidelines, and provide assistance and support within its capacity.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping recently sent a message of sympathy to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, expressing sincere sympathies on behalf of the Chinese government and people to the Serbian government and people over the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Serbia.

Xi stressed that China firmly supports Serbia's efforts against the epidemic, and will provide Serbia with assistance in protective equipment and medical instruments, and help it purchase urgently needed supplies in China.

China will also send a group of medical experts to help it better contain the COVID-19 epidemic, so as to protect the life, health and well-being of the Serbian people.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping recently sent a message of sympathy to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, stressing China firmly supports Germany's endeavor in combating the epidemic and is willing to provide assistance within its capacity if there is a need from the German side.

Xi noted by upholding the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China stands ready to continue sharing information and experience with Germany, and strengthening cooperation in such areas as epidemic prevention and control, treatment of patients, and vaccine research and development, so as to jointly protect the health and well-being of people not only in both countries but in the rest of the world.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping recently sent a message of sympathy to French President Emmanuel Macron, noting the Chinese government and people firmly support France's efforts against the COVID-19 epidemic, and stand ready to boost cooperation with France and jointly win the battle through mutual support and help.

Xi said China is willing to make concerted efforts with France to enhance international cooperation in epidemic prevention and control, support the UN and the WHO playing a core role in improving global public health governance, and build a community of common health for mankind.

March 22

-- Under the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, a press conference was held in Beijing underscoring the importance of implementing prevention and control measures in quarantine, transfer, treatment and isolation to curb the imported COVID-19 cases as the pandemic is affecting more than 180 countries and regions.

-- A Chinese medical team carrying ventilators, medical masks, test kits and other medical materials arrived in Serbian to help it battle the novel coronavirus.

March 23

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, introducing upon request the situation of the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control in China.

Xi stressed both China and France shoulder the arduous responsibility of safeguarding international and regional public health security, suggesting that both countries carry out sincere cooperation to promote joint research programs, strengthen cooperation in frontier health and quarantine inspection, support the work of the WHO, jointly help African countries enhance epidemic prevention and control, and strive to build a community of common health.

Xi said China stands ready to work with France to encourage all relevant parties to step up coordination and cooperation within such frameworks as the UN and G20, engage in joint prevention and containment, improve global health governance, help developing countries and other countries in need with capacity-building, and cushion the epidemic's impact on the world economy.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, noting facts have shown once again that mankind is a community that shares weal and woe. All countries must unite and work together to jointly cope with the COVID-19 epidemic.

Xi said by upholding the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, China will work with other countries to step up international cooperation in epidemic prevention and control, jointly address common threats and challenges, and safeguard global public health security.

Noting that Egypt is also facing the urgent task of battling the epidemic, Xi said China is willing to share with Egypt the epidemic-related information, experience on prevention and treatment, and medical research results, and provide it with medical supplies to support its prevention and control efforts to jointly beat the disease.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, introducing upon request China's epidemic prevention and control measures. Xi stressed that China hopes Britain will enhance coordination with China to minimize the risk of the epidemic's spread while ensuring necessary flow of people and trade.

Xi called on all nations to push forward cooperation within the frameworks of the UN and G20, enhance the exchange and sharing of information and experience, boost collaboration in scientific research, support the WHO in playing its due role, improve global health governance, increase macro-economic policy coordination so as to stabilize the market, maintain economic growth, safeguard people's well-being, and keep the global supply chains open, stable and safe.

-- Xinhua News Agency reported that Li Keqiang presided over a meeting of the leading group of the CPC Central Committee on the COVID-19 epidemic response, making arrangements to prevent imported infections and COVID-19 rebound at home according to changes in the epidemic situation, actively advance the resumption of work and production in order while keep prevention and control effective.

-- Under the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, a press conference was held in Beijing, announcing Hubei Province and Wuhan City had reported zero new confirmed and suspected case for five straight days, with the number of existing confirmed cases declining continuously. A health official told the press conference that zero report of new cases does not mean there is no risk, thus it's still arduous to prevent and control the epidemic.

-- The State Council Information Office held a press conference in Hubei, introducing the importance and effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in treating COVID-19. Zhang Boli, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering noted that TCM had remarkably reduced the proportion of patients with mild symptoms turning to severe cases.

-- A team of Chinese medical experts carrying a batch of medical materials aided by China arrived in Cambodia to help it fight the COVID-19.

March 24

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, noting that in the battle against the current global public health crisis, the urgency and significance of building a community with a shared future for humanity have become even greater. Only with solidarity and cooperation can the international community prevail over the pandemic and safeguard the planet.

Xi said China is ready to work with Kazakhstan and other countries to strengthen international cooperation against the pandemic and safeguard global public health security.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with Polish President Andrzej Duda, reiterating China's firm support to the Polish government and people in combating the COVID-19 epidemic.

Xi noted China had held a video conference of health experts with Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) to timely share information and relevant measures on epidemic prevention and control.

Xi said by upholding the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity, China is willing to enhance cooperation with other countries to fight the epidemic and safeguard global public health security.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at request, noting that the COVID-19 broke out in many parts of the world and was spreading rapidly and the top priority now is for countries to strengthen cooperation.

Xi said by upholding the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and with an open, transparent and responsible attitude, China has timely released epidemic information and shared experience in prevention, control and treatment with the WHO and the international community without reserve, and doing its best to provide assistance for other parties.

Xi stressed that the international community has already recognized that China made enormous sacrifices in the fight against COVID-19 and bought precious time for the world.

-- Chinese authorities and experts interacted via a video conference with health professionals across Latin America and the Caribbean states, sharing COVID-19 prevention and control experience. Attendees were about 200 officials and experts from 25 countries and representatives from the WHO, UNICEF, Pan American Health Organization and Inter-American Development Bank.

-- Under the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, a press conference was held in Beijing with disease control specialists and medical experts introducing the COVID-19 prevention, control and clinical diagnosis information. As revealed at the press conference, spreading risks of sporadic COVID-19 cases and imported cases still exist, thus the prevention and control work should not be taken lightly.

March 25

-- Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to hear reports of the epidemic prevention and control and the current economic situation, and study responsive measures.

The meeting decided to submit the measures to the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee for further review.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, stressing China firmly supports Germany in its fight against the COVID-19 epidemic and is willing to continue to provide assistance within China's capacity.

Xi said that the Chinese and German experts have already had video exchanges, and German experts have also travelled to China with the WHO expert team.

Xi said China is willing to share with Germany its experience in prevention, control and treatment, strengthen cooperation in vaccine and drug research and development, and contribute to the health and well-being of both peoples and global public health security.

In the battle against the outbreak, the strength of solidarity and cooperation between China and Germany, between China and the EU, have displayed positive energy, Xi said, adding China is ready to work with Germany and other sides to step up coordination and advocate the spirit of sharing the same boat and jointly fight the epidemic, so as to shore up confidence in the international community.

-- Under the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, a press conference was held in Beijing asking for efforts to strictly prevent imported infections and epidemic rebound at home.

-- A new PCR lab assisted and built by China was inaugurated in Baghdad, Iraq, to increase the testing capacity to contain COVID-19 in the war-torn country.

-- Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health plans to sign with American pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences on China-led evaluation research of medicine Remdesivir.

March 26

-- Via video link in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech titled "Working Together to Defeat the COVID-19 Outbreak"at the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit.

Stressing the outbreak is spreading worldwide and the situation is disturbing and unsettling, Xi said it's imperative for the international community to strengthen confidence, act with unity and work together in a collective response to win the battle against such a major infectious disease for humanity.

Guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China will be more than ready to share its good practices, provide assistance in its capacity to countries hit by the growing outbreak, and contribute to the stability of the world economy, Xi said.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote in a reply letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, saying China has always supported the global COVID-19 containment efforts with concrete actions, and has offered assistance to the WHO and other international organizations, as well as more than 80 countries. Xi said China will continue to provide support for the international community in combating COVID-19 epidemic.

-- Xinhua News Agency reported that Li Keqiang presided over a meeting of the leading group of the CPC Central Committee COVID-19 response work, calling for strict implementation of measures to prevent the rebound of the epidemic within the country and efforts to step up measures to guard against risks of imported cases by land and water.

-- Under the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, a press conference was held in Beijing announcing that 23 provincial-level regions reported confirmed imported cases of COVID-19 on March 25.

As revealed by the press conference, pressure remains huge to prevent the spread of the epidemic, and people should prepare for more persistent prevention and control efforts.

-- China's third medical team carrying ventilators, medical monitors, masks and other medical supplies arrived in Italy via chartered flight to help Italy fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

-- China held a video meeting on COVID-19 pandemic with medical experts and health officials from the West Asian and North African countries. About 200 participants from the Gulf Cooperation Council and 16 countries including Egypt, Algeria, Palestine, Lebanon, Kuwait and Qatar joined the online meeting.

-- According to the data of China International Development Cooperation Agency, China has thus far provided four batches of anti-pandemic aid for 89 countries and four international organizations, while the fifth batch of aid program was being developed.

March 27

-- Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, chaired a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to analyze the COVID-19 response and economic performance.

The meeting made new arrangements on coordinating the COVID-19 response and economic and social development.

China will deepen exchange and cooperation with the WHO and continue to provide assistance within its ability to other countries, according to the meeting.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, stressing viruses respect no national borders, and only by cooperation and with a collective response can the international community prevail over them.

Xi said the G20 major economies should uphold the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and strengthen unity, coordination and cooperation to resolutely stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and stabilize the world economy with all their strength.

Xi noted that with the king's presiding, G20 leaders successfully held an extraordinary summit on COVID-19 on March 26, and reached important consensus on fighting the pandemic in solidarity and stabilizing the world economy, which has sent a positive signal to the international community.

Xi stressed that China is ready to maintain close communication with Saudi Arabia and strengthen the momentum of G20 cooperation.

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over phone with U.S. President Donald Trump at request, stressing that China has been timely sharing information on COVID-19 in an open, transparent and responsible manner with the WHO and countries including the United States since the onset of the epidemic.

China, Xi said, wasted no time in releasing such information as the genetic sequence of the coronavirus, and has also been sharing experience on COVID-19 prevention, containment and treatment without reserve, and providing as much support and assistance as it can for countries in need.

Xi said China will continue to do so, and work with the international community to prevail over the pandemic.

-- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang talked over phone at request over the COVID-19 pandemic with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, and with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, respectively.

-- Under the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, a press conference was held in Beijing announcing that the number of the close contacts under medical observation had been increasing for seven consecutive days, with the number reported on March 26 jumping 78 percent than that on March 19.

The combination of emergency and normalized measures should be improved to accurately prevent and control the domestic epidemic and take strict precautions against the virus spreading.

-- China's NHC head Ma Xiaowei attended a COVID-19 pandemic information briefing held by the WHO, sharing experience of fighting against the virus and answering questions from other countries. More than 500 people from the countries like Russia, Brazil, Egypt and Qatar attended the online meeting.

March 28

-- A Chinese medical expert team carrying medical supplies arrived in Pakistan to help it fight COVID-19.

-- Invited by the European Respiratory Society, Wang Chen, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and also a medical specialist of respiratory and critical disease, attended a video connection and shared the health policies of the COVID-19 prevention and control with European physicians and health administrators.

March 29

-- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made an inspection tour for COVID-19 control and work resumption in east China's Zhejiang Province from March 29 to April 1, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

Xi called for the full implementation of the decisions and arrangements by the CPC Central Committee, while coordinating efforts for COVID-19 prevention and control, and economic and social development.

-- Under the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, a press conference was held in Beijing announcing that local transmission of COVID-19 has been basically blocked on the Chinese mainland, and China will continue efforts to guard against the dual risks of sporadic domestic cases and imported cases.

-- A team of Chinese medical experts carrying medical supplies, such as treatment machines, protective materials, traditional Chinese and western medicines, arrived at Laos to assist the country's fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

March 30

-- Xinhua News Agency reported that Li Keqiang presided over a meeting of the leading group of the CPC Central Committee COVID-19 response work, urging efforts to consolidate prevention and control measures to focus on the prevention and control of cases of infections that show no symptoms.

-- The International Department of CPC Central Committee and the secretariat of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) standing committee co-hosted an online seminar about jointly fighting against the COVID-19, aiming to promote the exchange and dialogue among Asian political parties in epidemic prevention and control via online communication, and boosting experience sharing and cooperation among Asian countries.

-- A team of Chinese medical and scientific experts carrying test kits, medical protective equipment, medicines and other China-donated medical supplies arrived in Caracas, capital of Venezuela, to help fight COVID-19.

-- Invited by the American College of Chest Physicians, Chinese medical experts attended a network forum of COVID-19 with their American counterparts and shared experience in fighting against the virus.

-- Upgraded by Chinese enterprises, Zimbabwe's main COVID-19 quarantine and treatment center, Wilkins Hospital, was completed and delivered to Zimbabwe.

-- China's NHC head Ma Xiaowei talked over phone with the U.S. secretary of health and human services Alex Azar on the implementation of principles agreed by the heads of state of China and the United States in a telephone conversation on March 27, sharing China's latest epidemic prevention and control situation and exchanging views for further cooperation.

March 31

-- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang talked over phone with Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad at request, saying the COVID-19 epidemic is spreading in the Middle East region and China feels keenly for it. Li said China stands firmly with Algeria, and is willing to provide support within its capacity and share its anti-virus experience.

-- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang talked over phone with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at request, saying China firmly supports Ireland's efforts in the fight against the disease, and is willing to provide Ireland with necessary assistance within its capacity. Li said China is also ready to facilitate Ireland's procurement and transportation of medical supplies from China, enhance exchanges of experience on epidemic prevention and treatment, and carry out cooperation in medical research and development.

-- The State Council Information Office held a press conference in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and answered questions about the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control, treatment of severe patients, resumption of normal medical order in the province and international cooperation of epidemic prevention and control.

-- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a press conference in Beijing that the Chinese government had provided material assistance including medical masks, N95 masks, protective suits, nucleic acid testing reagent and ventilators to 120 countries and four international organizations.

Local governments had donated medical supplies to more than 50 countries. And the Chinese enterprises donated medical supplies to more than 100 countries and international organizations.