01:09
China and Pakistan are in close communication on the delivery of relief supplies into the hands of the people in need and post-disaster reconstruction, said China's Foreign Ministry on Friday, which reflects "the strong friendship and deep mutual trust" between the two countries.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a regular press briefing in Beijing in response to an interview with Foreign Policy on September 27, in which Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said China always helped Pakistan in difficult times, denying comment that “China hasn’t quite come to Pakistan’s aid in a big way this year” when the floods hit.
There were two things worth noting about China’s assistance to Pakistan, the ministry spokesperson said.
“One is the notable speed, scale and intensity of our assistance,” Mao said. “The Chinese government decided to provide Renminbi 400 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Pakistan.
“China promptly collected all the supply reserves stored under the social and livelihood cooperation framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and delivered it to Pakistan for disaster relief.”
The second was that China’s assistance was a “whole-of-government, whole-of-society and all-dimensional effort,” she said.
“A total 125 million yuan worth of donations and flood-relief supplies were raised by friendly sub-national governments, companies and charitable individuals.”
(Video edited by Xu Xiang; text compiled by Feng Chi)
