Xi leads China's actions in intl humanitarian assistance

China and Arab states have offered mutual assistance and staunch support to each other, and engaged in close cooperation since the COVID-19 outbreak, Xi said in a congratulatory letter to the 9th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held on July 6, 2020, stressing that under the current circumstances, it is more necessary than ever for the two sides to step up cooperation and join hands in tiding over difficulties.

When Africa was short of anti-pandemic goods last year, China overcame difficulties in international transportation and delivered anti-pandemic goods to 53 countries in Africa.

The African Union in July 2019 praised China for its continuous support for public health in the continent as China fulfilled the promises it had made to the African people, referring to Xi's announcement during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing in September 2018, that China decided to upgrade 50 medical and health aid programs for Africa, particularly flagship projects such as the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

In January 2017, when delivering a keynote speech at the United Nations Office at Geneva, Xi said that China had provided foreign countries with over 400 billion yuan (about $58.4 billion then) in aid between 1950 and 2016, pledging that China would remain unchanged in its commitment to pursue common development.

Also in the speech, Xi announced that China decided to provide an additional 200 million yuan (about $29 million) of humanitarian assistance for refugees and the displaced of Syria.

In April 2016, China provided two million dollars in cash and humanitarian aid worth $9.2 million for Ecuador hit by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that killed almost 700 people, injured nearly 5,000 and displaced much more.

"China will take an active part in Ecuador's post-quake rebuilding, and continue to provide support in housing, medical treatment, human resources and disaster prevention and reduction," Xi said in November 2016 when visiting the headquarters of Ecuador's national emergency response system ECU-911.