Empathy hallmark of Sino-Greek relations

Different people use different terms to describe the friendly China-Greece relationship. Recently, the word "empathy" came to my mind. As the Greek philosopher Aristotle said, "What is a friend? A friend means a single soul dwelling in two bodies." The empathy and friendly sentiments our two peoples have for each other has once again been manifested in our joint fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.

On March 21, I handed over, on behalf of the Chinese government, for the Greek officials 8 tons of medical supplies, including 550,000 face masks, and personal protective gear, special eye-protection glasses, gloves and shoe covers, from the Chinese government, and another 10 tons of face masks donated by Chinese companies.

These much-needed medical supplies were organized and transported within eight days by the Chinese government in response to the urgent request of the Greek government, at a time when China is still fighting to contain the epidemic at home and medical supplies are still in short supply.

Indeed, the pandemic has once again highlighted the need to jointly build a community with a shared future. Since the virus does not respect borders, combating this global challenge requires international cooperation. From the beginning of this year, China has been at the forefront of the global fight against the epidemic, taking the most comprehensive and stringent measures, and mobilizing the entire nation, from governments at all levels to every grassroots community, to prevent and control the spread of the virus. Thanks to the quick and strong response, based largely on the people-first policy, China has been able to contain the spread of the virus.

At the same time, the Chinese government has been working with the international community transparently, and sharing valuable information and scientific data with different countries and global organizations. China's efforts have given other countries precious time to prepare and mobilize their resources to combat the outbreak. And the best practices and experiences of China have been put to good use by some countries that are also fighting the outbreak.

A good example of this was the China-Central and Eastern European countries' video conference on COVID-19 prevention and control on March 13, during which officials and medical experts from China, Greece and other CEE countries engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on how to tackle the epidemic in a scientific way.

In the fight against the pandemic, China and Greece have been working closely. When the situation in China was in its most critical stage, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, then president of Greece, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent letters to Chinese President Xi Jinping, expressing their support and sympathy for and solidarity with the Chinese government and people.

And even as certain countries, out of panic, abruptly shut their doors to or imposed unreasonable restrictions on Chinese nationals, the Greek government, while taking the necessary prevention and control measures, did not adopt any discriminatory measures against the Chinese people or on goods from China.

In particular, I was touched by the piles of letters I received from the Greek people and organizations expressing their solidarity with the Chinese people, as well as gestures such as donations of face masks by Greek companies and organizations. And a video clip made by teachers and students from the Business Confucius Institute in Athens cheering the Chinese people has been reposted thousands of times in China.

As the situation in Greece has become increasingly challenging, Chinese businesses including Cosco Shipping, State Grid, Bank of China, ICBC, Huawei and many local Chinese organizations have gone out of their way to find and ship medical supplies to Greece.

I know many members of the local Chinese community who have pooled their own resources and toiled to bring packages of face masks during their return flights to Greece for donation. And workers in several Chinese factories are working around the clock to ensure the medical supplies ordered by the Greek government in large quantities are ready on time.

China's prevention and control measures over the past months have proved effective, which shows the epidemic can be controlled. To counter the outbreak in Greece, the Greek government has taken early and forceful measures. And I am confident that these measures will yield the desired results. The Greek people, like their Chinese counterparts, have weathered many a storm, and successfully overcome challenges, from devastating wars and natural disasters to epidemics. This time, too, with all the Greek people united as one, Greece will definitely win the battle against the virus. As a friend, we stand by you and will assist you to the best of our ability.

As President Xi Jinping pointed out in his letter to his Greek counterpart, "through the test of jointly combating this epidemic, our friendship characterized by mutual support and assistance will be further consolidated".

The author is China's ambassador to Greece. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.