UAE stands resolutely with China during coronavirus challenge

China has faced the coronavirus challenge with a great degree of strength and resilience. In the UAE, we are left amazed at the remarkable response of the Chinese government and of the Chinese people.

The government and people of the United Arab Emirates would like to offer their support during this challenging time for China. We stand resolute in solidarity with China to support the country in its hour of need.

Indeed, we have great confidence that China will get past this quickly. In fact, there are positive signs such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressing their support to China's efforts to tackle the novel coronavirus outbreak and expressing confidence that China's economy "remains resilient".

This dilemma is unquestionably vast, however this has come at a time when China has never been so well-prepared for such a challenge. China's approach to dealing with this situation is admirable and it is truly astounding that they have managed, for example, to rapidly build two hospitals in Wuhan with a combined capacity of 2,500 capacity, including Huoshenshan Hospital completed in around 10 days and which is already operational.

This demonstrates the characteristic strength of the Chinese in the face of adversity.

In its 70 years the People's Republic of China as a nation has faced great challenges, and the country has successfully dealt with poverty reduction within a short period – the number of poor people in China has declined from 100 million in late 2012 to just 16.6 million by the end of 2018. This means that in just six short years, there has been a reduction of 80%.

This illustrates an important point – when the Chinese government focuses its efforts in challenges, it can achieve remarkable results.

The leadership of the People's Republic of China have been swift and responsive in their efforts to contain the virus to a restricted region within Wuhan and have redoubled medical support. I would echo the Director-General of the World Health Organisation who said, "If it weren't for China's efforts, the number of cases outside China would have been very much higher."

The UAE leadership stands resolutely with the Chinese government in support of their commendable efforts to deal with the coronavirus and have great faith in their significant capabilities to overcome this challenge. The strength and fortitude of the Chinese nation is shining through and we can see a collective pulling together across many layers of Chinese society.

Our nation intends to support China as best it can by deepening healthcare cooperation and providing medical equipment where possible. Our country's AI and Cloud Computing sector has already launched a humanitarian initiative to support healthcare personnel in China trying to contain the coronavirus outbreak, through its pioneering AI-focused healthcare practice. Hundreds of thousands of units of essential goods such as surgical masks, medical gloves, goggles and protective clothing are also being relayed from the UAE to support the medical effort in the affected areas.

The positive efforts by the Chinese government to tackle the coronavirus are gradually bearing fruit and we encourage the Chinese people to stay strong and pull through this crisis. I am confident that this issue will be successfully dealt with China’s characteristic strength of will to rise to any challenge.

The author is ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to China.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of China Daily and China Daily website.