China dispatches 6.5 lakh medical kits to India to fight COVID-19
To help India fight the COVID-19 pandemic, China dispatched 6.5 lakh coronavirus medical kits from Guangzhou Airport on Thursday (April 16). Over two million test kits being procured from China will be sent to India in the next 15 days, Indian Ambassador to Beijing Vikram Misri said
#IndiaFightsCoronavirus A total of 650,000 kits, including Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits have been despatched early today from Guangzhou Airport to #India | #2019nCoV #StayHomeSaveLives @MEAIndia @HarshShringla @DrSJaishankar
— Vikram Misri (@VikramMisri) April 16, 2020
Considering the importance, Misri said the Indian Embassy is facilitating commercial procurements besides coordinating flight linkages for their timely arrival in India.
Two major consignments of medical kits were reported to have been sent to India from China earlier as part of efforts to step up testing specially in hotspots amid the lockdown
On Tuesday, Misri told media in the national capital that India has placed orders to procure 15 million personal protection gear from China for medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients besides three million testing kits.
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The orders are being placed with bonafide firms with the help of the Chinese government.
“I think facilitation of our needs and our requirements in a timely manner, in a smooth manner, on a predictable timeline at prices that are stable and orderly, would be the best signal possible to send for the India-China relationship,” Misri said.
As demand for Chinese medical supplies scaled up due to the spread of the virus in several parts of world, China on Wednesday asked all the countries to import these items through reputed Chinese firms cleared by the government and vowed to punish those involved in counterfeit behaviour.
Responding to questions about quality concerns raised by several countries related to medical equipment imports from China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here on Wednesday that the Chinese government is facilitating the orderly exports.
“We hope foreign buyers can choose products from companies that have been accredited by Chinese regulators with good production credentials,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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