State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Had a Phone Call with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah

On 1 February, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call with Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah.

Foreign Minister Saifuddin conveyed sympathies to China on behalf of the Malaysian government and people for the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak and expressed Malaysia's solidarity with the Chinese people during this difficult time. Malaysia shares the WHO's recognition of China's forceful response measures and considers these measures highly effective. The Malaysian government has decided not to announce a travel ban on all Chinese travelers entering Malaysia. It believes that the outbreak is only temporary and that China is fully capable of overcoming it soon. The Malaysian nationals in China are in good health, for they have been following the measures announced by China, which have proven beneficial to their health and safety.

State Councilor Wang thanked the Malaysian government for donating medical supplies to China and expressed appreciation for Malaysia's cooperation for China's chartered flight to bring home its Hubei citizens. Wang said that China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors and have consistently supported each other. During the SARS outbreak, China and ASEAN held a special leaders' meeting. It sent a strong message of solidarity among countries in this region to the world. China highly appreciates Malaysia's strong support to China in fighting the current outbreak. Just like ensuring its own people's health and safety, China will work effectively to provide what is necessary for the work, life and health of Malaysians in China.

Wang said that China has unique institutional strengths, rich experience in fighting major disasters and advanced epidemic control and treatment measures. China has every capacity and determination to defeat the outbreak at an early date. The WHO has on many occasions described China's measures as forceful and effective and expressed appreciation for China's important contribution to global public health as well its full confidence in China's victory over the outbreak. The WHO also made it clear that it does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions. China believes that Malaysia will continue to view the outbreak in an objective and rational way and firmly support the efforts China has made.