China announced a series of measures to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Türkiye and Syria in response to Tuesday’s devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 8,000 people.
Beijing is still a relatively new actor in being able to provide rapid response to natural disasters like this in other parts of the world. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Emergency Management and China’s international aid agency CIDCA both quickly mobilized money, personnel and resources to be deployed first to Türkiye and later to Syria:
- AID: The government announced a “first batch” of $5.9 million of emergency humanitarian assistance for Türkiye but did not specify if/when funds would be available for Syria. (GLOBAL TIMES)
- PERSONNEL: An 82-member search and rescue team arrived in Adana, Türkiye, on Wednesday, along with 20 tons of relief supplies and four search dogs. Another eight member team from Hangzhou was dispatched from Hangzhou. (PEOPLE’S DAILY)
- OTHER ASSISTANCE: The Red Cross Society of China announced separate $200,000 donations to the Turkish and Syrian Red Crescent Societies. (PEOPLE’S DAILY)
At this time, there are no reports of Chinese casualties from the quake and the subsequent aftershocks, according to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning.
The Global Times newspaper also reported that as of Tuesday, no major Chinese-backed infrastructure projects in Türkiye were impacted by the earthquake, most notably the $1.7 billion/660mw Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant.
