BANGKOK — The People’s Republic of China donated a 30 million baht worth of medical supplies to Thailand for its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
A planeload of equipment, including virus test kits and protective gears, landed at the Thai air force base in Bangkok amid a welcome ceremony held by Thai officials. Assistant defense minister Charnchai Changmongkol praised China for its continuous support to Thailand during the epidemic.
“This is not the first time the Chinese government supported us in terms of equipment,” Gen. Charnchai said. He also congratulated the Chinese authorities for a rapid containment of the coronavirus outbreak there.
In reply, a Chinese diplomat at the handover ceremony thanked Thai people for their assistance to China at the time when the pandemic was at its worst in the mainland.
He called the reciprocal relationship a display of solidarity among different nations at the time of global crisis that knows no border.
“The Chinese people do not forget that when we were at the peak of our suffering, it was His Majesty the King who expressed his concerns [for our wellbeing] to President Xi Jinping,” diplomat Yang Xin said.
“And the Thai people poured in their moral support and donations of medical equipment to China, Yang said.
The supplies donated yesterday consist of six ventilators, 10 electrocardiograms, 30 infusion pumps, 100 infrared thermometers, 6,000 coronavirus test kits, and 15,000 surgical masks.
The batch also includes up to 100,000 single-use medical face masks and 10,500 pairs of medical goggles.
Other foreign governments and agencies have also sent assistance to Thailand since the outbreak began in January, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Thai-Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and the Taiwanese government.
