China offers new anti-Ebola aid to West Africa

China will provide 500 million RMB (about 82 million US dollars) in aid to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and international organizations to fight Ebola, President Xi Jinping said on Friday.

"China will offer aid in cash and in kind, send more health experts and medical staff and help build a treatment center in Liberia," Xi said when holding talks with visiting Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa has continued to spread, threatening the lives of African people, their economic and social development as well as global public health, said the Chinese president.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed," Xi said, adding that China knows how the affected countries suffer and has taken the lead in providing three rounds of assistance to them.

Since the Ebola outbreak in February, China has delivered humanitarian aid swiftly, offering multiple batches of emergency assistance and dispatching nearly 200 experts and workers to the affected areas to help with prevention and control.

In August, China delivered aid worth 30 million yuan (about 5 million US dollars) to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

A month later, the government announced another batch of cash, food and material aid and donated 2 million US dollars in cash to the World Health Organization and the African Union.

China's mobile laboratory in Sierra Leone has tested more than 500 Ebola samples with 100 percent accuracy. Local health authorities said the data played an important role in assisting the government of Sierra Leone in handling the emergency.

China is willing to work with the international community to help the affected countries win the fight against Ebola at an early date, Xi told the Tanzanian president.

Kikwete voiced gratitude on behalf of Africans for China's assistance for west African countries' fight against Ebola.

During Friday's talks, the two presidents lauded the traditional friendship between China and Tanzania, pledging to make joint efforts to develop the comprehensive partnership based on mutual benefit and win-win cooperation.

The bilateral relationship was elevated to the partnership level in March last year as Xi paid a state visit to the country.

Xi said China and Tanzania are "all-weather" "good friends, good partners and good brothers" and their friendship has become even stronger than before over the past half century. The two countries established diplomatic relations on April 26, 1964.

Xi proposed China and Tanzania maintain the momentum of high-level interactions, increase exchanges between governmental agencies, legislatures, political parties, sub-national governments and the people of the two countries, and continue supporting each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns.

China will back Tanzania's push to build economic zones and industrial parks, will boost infrastructure, aviation and financial cooperation with the Tanzanian side, and help the African country in its drive for economic and social development, said the Chinese leader.

Xi said China stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with Tanzania on regional and international affairs to make the international order more just and equitable.

As the sixth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held next year, Xi said the Chinese side will work together with Tanzania and other African countries to make the conference a great success.

Kikwete said Tanzania cherishes the friendship with China and will support China as always.

Hailing China's great achievements in development, Kikwete attributed China's success to the fact that China has found and firmly sticks to a right path fit for the country's national conditions.

Briefing Xi on Tanzania's drive for industrialization and modernization, Kikwete said the Tanzanian side hopes to learn from China's experience and boost cooperation to speed up the African country's development.

After their talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation deals.

Prior to the talks, Xi held a red-carpet ceremony to welcome the Tanzanian president.

At Xi's invitation, Kikwete is making a six-day visit to China.