On April 23, the famous Icelandic online media Visir.is published a signed article by Ambassador Jin Zhijian entitled Stand Together to Overcome Difficulties.
The full text is as follows:
The current global outbreak of COVID-19 is ravaging the world and no country alone can address this severe challenge. In this ongoing battle against the pandemic, the governments and peoples of China and Iceland understand and support each other, and open a new chapter of bilateral relations.
The pandemic first struck Wuhan City of Hubei Province in China at the turn of this year. The Chinese government has led the whole nation to resolutely fight the pandemic and forged the front line of global defense at the huge sacrifice and cost of our own. China's aggressive approach has won the world valuable time and made important contribution in the global battle against the pandemic.
The Icelandic government and people, thousands of miles away, have been closely following the footprint of the pandemic in China. President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland sent letters to Chinese leaders respectively and expressed their sincere sympathies, condolences and best wishes to the Chinese people who have been hit hard by the pandemic. The public support for China in Iceland has been heartwarming. Icelandic Chinese Cultural Society and Kopavogur, Wuhan’s friendship city, took the lead in supporting China. Iceland musician Doctor Victor signaled in his music piece that “The virus is our common enemy, let's unite and fight the epidemic together.” Business and academic circles made videos in both English and Chinese to cheer for China. The Icelandic Overseas Chinese Association acted quickly to donate to Wuhan Tongji Hospital while offering medical supplies. These touching moments created a great internet sensation and spread widely in China.
Iceland, a pure land on earth, has confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Feb 28th. China shared Iceland's grief and sorrow. President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang of China sent letters to their counterparts in Iceland and expressed heartfelt sympathies. Both emphasized that China was willing to work together with Iceland with all possible assistance to fight against COVID-19. The Chinese side maintained close communication with the Icelandic health authorities, and provided important information and experience to fight the virus in a timely manner. The Director of Health and chief epidemiologist from the Directorate of Health of Iceland were invited to participate in the China-Europe Video Conference on COVID-19 organized by China, and discussed with medical personnel from China and Europe about the action plan. Upon learning that Iceland needs to purchase medical materials from China, the Chinese Embassy in Iceland moved quickly to assist Iceland in handling the procurement and transportation of medical goods in China. We have also coordinated six Chinese organizations and companies to donate 322,000 Medical Face Masks, 2080 Disposable Protective Gowns and 2000 Medical Face Shields, with a total value of 35 million krona. I have delivered the list of above-mentioned medical supplies to Landspitali on April 22, and I sincerely hope these medical supplies can help Iceland to win the battle against the pandemic as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Icelandic language students of Beijing Foreign Studies University have made videos by themselves to cheer for Iceland. Their warm blessings in Icelandic have aroused positive reactions in Iceland local community.
Although thousands of miles apart with different national conditions, the peoples of China and Iceland are always closely connected. Whether it was the help China offered after the volcanic eruption in Iceland in 1973 or during the financial crisis of 2008, or Iceland helping China after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, we have always stood together and supported each other. The joint efforts in fighting the pandemic once again highlighted the friendly relations between our two countries as well as our firm determination to overcome all difficulties in these dark times. Let us look forward to the coming blossom spring in the wake of crisis. I fully believe China Iceland bilateral relations will enter a new phase in the following year when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries.
Chinese Ambassador to Iceland Jin Zhijian