China’s Ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, on COVID-19: “There Is No Need to Panic”

China’s outspoken ambassador to South Africa, Lin Songtian, convened a press conference on Tuesday at the embassy in Pretoria to presumably update the media about the ongoing effort to contain the spread of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. But he didn’t reveal much new information, other than to offer reassurances to South African stakeholders that Beijing is committed to doing its best to ensure the highly contagious virus does not make it to South Africa.

Highlights from Ambassador Lin Songtian’s News Conference

  • CONTAINMENT: “We try our best to defeat and contain the virus within our territory. China has taken the most comprehensive and rigorous measures to prevent and control the epidemic so as to resolutely contain the spread of the disease and defeat the virus within China. We don’t want to see it getting into Africa, including South Africa.”
  • SOUTH AFRICA: “I have confidence in South Africa’s medical facilities, rapid response mechanism, professionalism and scientific response. Even if a few individual cases are found in this country, South Africa is fully prepared and capable of dealing with them. There is no need to panic.”

SUGGESTED READING:

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Eric Olander

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
4 Trump’s Contradictory Iran Strategy Leaves U.S. Weaker After War’s End, Says Chinese Commentator
5
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
6
Indonesia Begins $5.9 Billion Chinese EV Battery Project Despite Environment Fears

You Might Like

South African Patients Flock to Docked Chinese Hospital Ship

A Chinese hospital ship has docked in Cape Town to bring much-needed free medical care to South African patients as part of a joint exercise between the two nations, the army said Monday. ...

Chinese Embassy in Burkina Faso Admonishes Hiker and Tells Him to Go Home

The Chinese embassy in Burkina Faso took the rare step of issuing a public statement on its website that called on 26-year-old hiker Lu Jiabin to give up his mission to cross ...

Chinese Diplomats and Missions in Africa Are Opening Twitter Accounts. Here’s a List of Who’s Online.

2019 will go down as the year when Chinese diplomacy officially entered the “Twitterverse.” Over the past six months, a small but steadily growing number of Chinese missions and diplomats in Africa have ...

Russian, Chinese and South African Warships Docked in Cape Town Harbor Put on a Good Show

The visiting warships from China and Russia, along with South Africa’s own vessels, were open to the public in Cape Town harbor for the past few days before they head out to sea ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP