BRI playing important role in fighting COVID-19: Chinese FM

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The infrastructure and public wellbeing projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have played an important role for partner countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, declared on May 24. 

Addressing the foreign and domestic media at the sidelines of second session of the Chinese parliament, Wang Li said that looking into the future, the joint building of the BRI will be conducted on a more solid foundation, with more vitality and broader prospects after the pandemic. 

According to Wang, China-Europe freight trains have transported 8,000 tons of materials used to help combat the virus from January to April. 

The Chinese Foreign Minister took various questions and responded in detail via video link from Beijing. For the convenience of foreign media, the press conference provided simultaneous interpretation service in six languages, English, Fresh, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and Japanese. 

Wang came up with comprehensive response to the queries regarding COVID-19 pandemic, China-US relations, globalization, China-Russia relations, global aid, China-EU relations, lawsuits related to COVID-19 and China diplomacy in 2020. 

Shedding light on lawsuits, Wang stated that Beijing will not accept lawsuits from other countries on losses from COVID-19 and such attempts to infringe on China’s sovereignty and dignity are doomed to failure. 

Wang continued to say that the accusations were completely baseless both in terms of laws and facts and have no international precedents. China, like other countries, is also a victim of the pandemic, he remarked. 

“China has paid a heavy price and made huge sacrifice in its efforts to contain the spread of the virus and cut off the path of its transmission with the shortest possible period,” he explained.