国内英语新闻:Chinese FM urges G20 solidarity in COVID-19 fight

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday that China and Indonesia should jointly push the Group of 20 (G20) to strengthen solidarity and coordination in the global battle against COVID-19.

In a telephone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, Wang said that the outbreaks of the coronavirus disease across the world have presented the international community with a grave common challenge.

China sympathizes with Indonesia's current situation, and stands ready to carry out further cooperation in epidemic prevention and control, he said, noting that shipment of the supplies provided for Indonesia already started earlier in the day.

Wang added that China is ready to help Indonesia purchase needed supplies in China and share epidemic control experience with Indonesia and other Southeast Asian nations, and is confident that Indonesia will prevail over the disease.

Faced with the uNPRecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, G20 members should join hands to send out a unanimous and positive message, and provide support for other countries, so as to jointly contribute to global public health security.

For her part, Retno said her country highly appreciates China's sharing of experience with and provision of medical supplies for other countries, which has demonstrated China's role as a responsible major country.

Indonesia, she said, is willing to learn from China's experience and further step up cooperation with China in COVID-19 containment, and is also ready to work with China to boost regional and global cooperation against the disease.

She stressed that viruses recognize no national borders, and that politicizing the disease is detrimental to global solidarity and cooperation in combating the pandemic.