Yonhap News Agency:
The epidemic situations in both the Republic of Korea (ROK) and China have become much better. I wonder what China thinks of the cooperation between the two countries? And where is this cooperation headed in the future?
Zeng Yixin:
Your first question is concerning what we think of the epidemic control work in the ROK. Each country has its own specific situation, including number of infected cases, how serious the epidemic is, the distribution of the cases and so on. Each country also has its own social system and management system too. Therefore, we believe the ROK formulated its prevention and control measures according to its own conditions, and we are happy to see that the situation there is gradually improving.
As for your second question on the cooperation between China and the ROK after the outbreak. Foreign ministers of both countries have mentioned in phone conversations that the two sides have maintained close exchanges centered around two aspects: prevention and control, and medical treatment. The two countries have carried out cooperation in both aspects. Officials in the health authorities of both countries have also kept close policy communication via written exchanges. Since Jan. 3, the health authorities of the two countries have maintained close cooperation regarding epidemic information, and shared such information between them. The disease control centers of the two countries have also established expert hotlines to share information and carry out technical exchanges. China has shared technical guidelines and measures regarding COVID-19 prevention, diagnosis and treatment with the ROK via various channels. On Feb. 3, the two sides participated in a video conference held between senior health officials of the ASEAN, China, the ROK and Japan, during which they carried out technical exchanges on epidemic prevention and control. Foreign ministries in China, the ROK and Japan also established a joint multi-department prevention and control mechanism. Epidemic control involves not only health authorities but also other government agencies, thus foreign ministries of the three countries took the lead on this mechanism. Under this mechanism, health authorities in China and the ROK jointly established a clinical and prevention committee to further carry out cooperation in fighting the epidemic.
Next, under the aforementioned mechanisms and committee and through video and phone calls, China and the ROK will continue to carry out technical exchanges, share epidemic control experiences and clinical experiences, coordinate epidemic control efforts, and carry out further cooperation in order to respond to the pandemic. Thank you.
