Foreign Minister Wang Yi Speaks to Tanzanian FM Palamagamba Kabudi on the Phone

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke to Palamagamba Kabudi, Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of Tanzania, on the phone on 4 February.

Minister Kabudi conveyed sympathies to China over the novel coronavirus outbreak on behalf of his government. As comrades in solidarity and brothers sharing weal and woe, Tanzania stands firmly with China in this time of difficulty. The Tanzanian government appreciates China's efforts to care for its nationals living in China, and shares the WHO assessment that China's response has helped to curb the spread of the virus to other parts of the world. Tanzania is confident that China will win the battle against the epidemic at an early date.

State Councilor Wang thanked his counterpart for offering sympathies and support. He commended Tanzania as a good and trustworthy friend, and hailed the friendship between the two countries as one that has withstood the vicissitudes of the world. He said that in the face of the epidemic, the Chinese people are acting as one and various measures are falling into place. These efforts have brought encouraging news: cured cases have exceeded fatal ones by a significant margin, and the increase of suspected cases is slowing down. We will definitely win this battle.

Wang stressed that the WHO Director General had commended China's containment measures on multiple occasions, expressed his confidence in China to prevail over the epidemic and praised China for setting a new standard for epidemic response. Yesterday, when speaking on behalf of Africa at the 146th session of the WHO Executive Board, the Tanzanian delegate spoke highly of China's prompt and adequate response. He said that the crisis would have been worse had it not been for the strict and timely measures taken by China. He also assured China of Africa's continued cooperation and solidarity. China appreciates these words of support.

Wang noted that by caring for the life and health of every Chinese, China is also contributing to global public health. The number of infected cases outside China is hardly one percent of that in China, which proves the effectiveness of China's response in curbing the spread of the epidemic further afield. China stands ready to increase information sharing with other countries in the spirit of openness and transparency and seek closer health cooperation with Tanzania and other African countries.