(Photo: Xinhua)

Washington (People’s Daily) – The US State Department issued a statement Friday that said it would provide aid to China to help combat the novel coronavirus. State department officials confirmed the US is prepared to send upwards of $100 million in aid to assist China and other impacted countries, both directly and through multilateral organizations, to help combat the respiratory virus.

The statement also said the US has facilitated the transportation of nearly 17.8 tons of donated medical supplies to Chinese medical personnel, including facemasks, hospital gowns, gauze, respirators, and other essentials. 

US President Donald Trump on Thursday spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the novel coronavirus outbreak.

"President Trump expressed confidence in China’s strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak," according to a statement issued by a White House spokesperson. 

"The two leaders agreed to continue extensive communication and cooperation between both sides,” the statement read.

Trump took to Twitter Friday morning and said Xi was "strong, sharp, and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack" against the virus and predicted the outcome would be "very successful."

In a separate tweet, Trump said, "Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!"