China willing to work together with India to win battle against COVID-19: Chinese ambassador

China is willing to work together with India to win the battle against the COVID-19 epidemic, jointly safeguard global and regional public health security, and contribute to greater care for common homeland of mankind, said Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong on Friday.

In an article entitled "Viruses don't respect borders, Come together" published in Hindustan Times, Sun said, "As a friend, neighbor and partner, we sincerely wish India success in its endeavor at an early date."

"China and India are both ancient civilizations with populations accounting for nearly 40 percent of the world," he said. "We have all the reasons to strengthen cooperation."

Noting that the Indian government has taken a series of decisive and strict prevention and control measures which delivered positive outcomes, the Chinese envoy said India's victory in epidemic control is of great significance to the global fight against COVID-19.

"Viruses respect no borders, and epidemics do not distinguish between races. They are common enemy of mankind. We are all in the same boat," Sun said, adding that "only by working together can we win this battle."

"In a crisis like this, complaining, finger-pointing or scapegoating is not the way to get countries to stay focused on their battle against the virus," he said. "Such moves will very likely divide the international community, lead to prejudice against specific ethnic groups and ultimately hurt the shared interests of the world."

"We advocate to reject ideological biases and attempts at labeling the virus, politicizing the response, and stigmatizing any specific country," Sun said.

China and India have maintained close communication and cooperation on epidemic prevention and control. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a letter of condolence to Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders attended the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit on COVID-19.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had telephone conversations with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar twice, exchanging views on anti-epidemic cooperation.

China and India both advocate strengthening international cooperation, making concerted efforts and jointly defeating the epidemic.

The Chinese ambassador said since the outbreak of the epidemic in India, China shares the same feeling and extends a helping hand in time.

China has timely shared its experiences in epidemic prevention, control and treatment with the Indian side in different ways including video conferences, he said.

As sister provinces and cities, Guangdong Province and Chongqing Municipality have, respectively, donated medical materials to Gujarat State and Chennai City. Alibaba, Fosun and other Chinese enterprises and charities have assisted India with a large number of medical supplies such as facial and protective masks, protective suits, medical gloves and ventilators.

According to the Chinese envoy, China has provided India with various conveniences and assistance for its commercial procurement in China, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China has opened a "green channel" and approved 35 new Indian cargo flights to deliver medical supplies.

"China will continue to support and assist India within its capacity, strengthen medical and health cooperation and jointly work with India to overcome the difficulties," Sun said.