Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong

 
Chinese Ambassador to India’s quick response to India’s Bollywood Actor Sonu Sood’s tweet which alleged that China has blocked anti-epidemic supplies to India by clarifying about China’s persistent support to India’s anti-epidemic efforts has gathered thumbs up from many India netizens, which brought the recent interactions on India’s worsening epidemic situation between the two countries to a new high. 

Ambassador Sun Weidong clarified that China is offering its utmost help to India and reassured that China will continue to ensure smooth delivery of anti-epidemic supplies to its neighbor ravaged by the new wave of COVID-19 infections a few hours after India’s Bollywood Actor Sonu Sood tweeted to greenlight medical supplies against COVID-19 India had ordered. 
 
Over the past two weeks, the issue of the epidemic in India has become a hot topic on Chinese social networks, with many netizens sharing their or their family members' experiences of successfully fighting the virus and cheering on their neighbors.

Media reported that some logistics companies and medical product manufacturers in Yiwu, East China’s Zhejiang Province, had volunteered to work overtime during China’s May Day holidays because of a surge in orders from India and "customers waiting for them to save their lives."

Sun’s latest tweet on Sunday portrayed that workers of a Chinese oxygen generator manufacturer are working overtime to produce and pack the machines on May Day holiday, and the batch of oxygen generators will be sent to India soon.

In a response to Sood’s Twitter post on Saturday alleging that China had blocked “a large number of consignment of oxygen concentrators to India that he had ordered,” the Chinese Ambassador Sun immediately said that he had noted the Twitter information and suggested that China has “provided convenience in customs clearance and transportation for India to transport medical supplies from cities in China.”
 
“[We] will continue to ensure smooth functioning of export channel of materials to India,” Sun stressed.

“In the past two weeks, 61 cargo flights have been in operation from China to India, transporting various urgently needed medical supplies for India. The latest cargo flight carrying oxygen generators & other equipment took off from Tianjin, China to India at 11:15am today,” read one of Sun’s posts on Saturday, attaching in-scene videos messaging goods being transported.
 
Chinese medical suppliers are working overtime on orders from India, at least 25000 orders for oxygen concentrators in recent days. Cargo planes are under plan for medical supplies. Chinese customs will facilitate relevant process, Sun updated in his successive tweets on the issue.

He also posted an email address in the post, saying “please let us know any problem you met so that we could try our best to help accordingly.”
 
Sun’s prompt response were recognized and applauded for China’s caring and supports to its neighbor suffering from the surge of COVID-19 infections. 
 
“Thank you China for coming forward to help. You forget the enmity in this difficult time,” a Twitter user Nirup Dhawan commented.

Since this April when India’s epidemic has deteriorated seriously, China has supplied more than 5,000 ventilators, 21,569 oxygen generators, over 21.48 million masks and around 3,800 tons of medicines to India, according to statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China.
 
Since the outbreak engulfed India, the interactions between the governments and the people of the two countries have gathered steam.

A woman receives Oxygen sitting in an autorickshaw at Gurukul School, Ghatkopr in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday. Photo: VCG

  
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has expressed its condolences in all consecutive seven regular press conferences during April 22 to April 30 ahead of China’s five-day public holidays, stressing that China is willing to provide assistance within its capacity.

China, as a close neighbor and partner, fully understands the challenges facing India, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a phone call with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday, stressing that China is ready to provide support to the best.
 
Chinese President Xi Jinping has also sent a message of sympathy to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

Many Chinese firms, Red Cross Society of China, local governments, and non-governmental friendship organizations are also using their own channels to provide assistance to India.
 
Chinese companies have been accelerating production of at least 40,000 oxygen generators orders placed by the Indian side, and are working at a fast pace to deliver as soon as possible, according to Ambassador Sun.
 
Many Chinese netizens have also expressed their sympathy and support for the Indian people on the internet.

The videos of an Indian student who used to live in China documenting his life after he became infected have garnered nearly a million views and a large number of warm messages of encouragement and wishes from Chinese netizens.
 
Some netizens appeared online every day to ask about his health and remind him not to be exhausted due to video-making, while many others shared with him the symptoms and feelings of every day since the infection until getting gradually recovered, trying to keep him from feeling feared and pressured.
 
India continues to face the world’s most devastating level of the coronavirus pandemic, seeing new cases of 40,000 in a single day. The overall confirmed cases in India reached to 19.2 million as of Sunday.