Foreign Ministry emphasizes rationality in calls to world diplomats

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated that China is capable of putting down the novel coronavirus outbreak as he talked to his counterparts in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan over the phone on Monday.

He said China is responsible for not only its own citizens but also the international community, and can maintain the safety of expats in China.

As a result of China’s relentless efforts, the death rate of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus in China is under 2.1 percent, much lower than other epidemics including the 17.4 percent-death rate of the H1N1 outbreak in the United States in 2009, Wang said to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Currently the total number of cases in other countries is less than 1 percent of those in China, while the H1N1 flu that broke out in the US spread to 214 countries and regions, Wang said, adding China is opposed to overreaction and measures that create fear.

He said to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud he believes Saudi Arabia will stand with China during the fight against the epidemic, and bilateral cooperation will outlast the epidemic, which is only temporary.

In his call with Sudanese Foreign Minister Asmaa Abdallah, Wang said he believes people in African countries will stand firmly with the Chinese people, and China and Sudan should make full use of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the Belt and Road Initiative to expand bilateral cooperation.

The foreign ministers told Wang they are confident China will overcome the epidemic. Zarif said Iran is firmly opposed to some Western countries’ behavior of taking advantage of the difficulty China is going through.