Viruses know no borders, nor does friendship. On March 25, a special issue of Can Kao Xiao Xi published an article entitled “Beijing joins hands with sister cities to fight COVID-19,” telling touching stories of how Beijing is working with its sister cities in the fight against COVID-19 and how the cooperation epitomizes the efforts of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

On the morning of March 9, the representative of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality handed a letter and anti-epidemic supplies over to Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh, the Iranian Ambassador to China. The letter was from the Mayor of Beijing, Chen Jining, to the Mayor of Tehran Pirouz Hanachi. These supplies were among the first batch of anti-epidemic materials donated by Beijing to its sister cities.

Viruses know no borders, nor does friendship. Since the outbreak, sister cities have provided Beijing with in-kind assistance and other forms of help. As COVID-19 is spreading across the world, Beijing returns the favor by donating much-needed supplies to sister cities and sharing its response to the epidemic.

Sister cities' timely support for Beijing

“On behalf of the city of Cologne, I appreciate and support the great efforts made by the Government of Beijing Municipality to battle COVID-19. I would like to pay tribute to the brave medical staff and send my best wishes to the citizens of Beijing. I believe the Government of Beijing Municipality will eventually defeat the virus and the life in the city will return to normal before long. I look forward to seeing you soon.” Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne, sent her best wishes for Beijing immediately after she heard about the outbreak in China in early February.

Beijing and Seoul have been sister cities for 37 years. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon sent a letter of sympathy after the COVID-19 outbreak. He also made a video, expressing in Chinese his support for Wuhan and for China. He said, “The Chinese adage 'send a present of firewood in cold weather' means helping people in distress. Five years ago, when Seoul was struck by MERS, Beijing extended a helping hand promptly. Now that Beijing is facing the challenge of the virus, Seoul is willing to stand by Beijing to battle it.”

Since the outbreak, cities in different parts of the world have demonstrated solidarity with Beijing. William Russell, Lord Mayor of the City of London, expressed his appreciation and support for the effective measures taken by Beijing. He also voiced hope to visit Beijing after the epidemic.

Valérie Pécresse, President of the Paris Region which became a sister city of Beijing 33 years ago, expressed support for China's fight against COVID-19 on Twitter: “I condemn all racist acts against the Chinese community and Chinese tourists. I express my heartfelt sympathy to the Chinese people who were hit hard by this deadly virus.”

On February 11, the Tel Aviv-Yafo city hall was lit up in red as a gesture of solidarity with China. Mayor Ron Huldai expressed his support for Beijing's battle against the epidemic and appreciation for the effective control measures taken in China. He also issued a social media announcement about the activity.

▲The Tel Aviv-Yafo city hall illuminated in support of China's fight against the epidemic.

So far, 24 sister cities of Beijing, including Tokyo, Seoul, Cologne, the City of London, and Moscow, and international organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, have sent letters to express their support for Beijing amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Sister cities lend a helping hand

After the outbreak, medical protective suits and gloves donated by Cologne arrived in Beijing on February 13, which were the first donation from a sister city of Beijing.

▲Cologne donates anti-epidemic supplies to Beijing

Later, three batches of protective clothing and devices, including protective gowns, goggles, facial shields, masks, and thermal imagers, donated by Seoul arrived in Beijing. “When brothers come together, there is nothing they cannot achieve. Only solidarity can see us through the current difficulties.” The words written in Chinese and Korean on the packaging boxes were particularly eye-catching. Other sister cities such as Yokohama in Japan and Busan in South Korea also expressed their willingness to donate and they also communicated with Beijing about its needs amid the outbreak.

“Timely donations from our sister cities have been a great help for our fight against COVID-19, showing solidarity in difficult times.” An official from the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing said, “As a focal point for international cooperation in the fight against COVID-19, we will leverage our resources and work with other departments to effectively manage donations from our sister cities.”

In addition to these sister cities, sister districts have also provided strong support. On February 20, Shijingshan District received 49 boxes of medical protective supplies from Mapo District, Seoul. The message, written in Chinese and Korean on each box, reads, “We have been sister cities for 24 years. Our city will stand by you at this difficult time.” Dongdaemun District and Seongdong District of Seoul have also donated masks to Yanqing District and Huairou District, respectively.

▲Mapo District, Seoul donates anti-epidemic supplies to Shijingshan District, Beijing. 

“New friends” made by Beijing last year have also expressed support for the city. Kari Nessa Nordtun, Mayor of Stavanger which is the sister city of Daxing District, wrote a letter to the CPC Committee and Government of Daxing District to express deep sympathy and support for the city and the District's fight against COVID-19 and wished all the patients get well soon.

So far, Beijing has received approximately 1.13 million masks, 220,000 protective suits, 750,000 pairs of gloves, 17,000 pieces of surgical gowns, 44,000 waterproof suits, 3,700 pairs of goggles, 90 facial shields, and 40 thermal imagers donated by foreign central or local governments.

Beijing returns the favor

While China has gone through the most difficult moments and effectively contained the epidemic, the COVID-19 outbreak has occurred in many places around the world. Beijing has communicated with cities hit by the virus and donated supplies based on their respective needs.

“We have learned that cities such as Seoul, Tehran, Tokyo, and Yokohama are also facing great challenges in the fight against COVID-19, and some items required for COVID-19 prevention and control are in short supply. Beijing citizens are worried about the spread of COVID-19 in sister cities. While working on an ongoing basis to contain the virus, Beijing, as the capital of a responsible major country, has decided to make donations to the above four cities to help them fight the virus,” the official of the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing said.

As an important part of Chinese medicine, TCM has played an important role in treating COVID-19 patients. Beijing thus included TCM granules in its donations to sister cities.

The donations also featured locally developed mobile intelligent temperature detectors which combine infrared thermal imaging and facial recognition technology. The devices can quickly and accurately measure body temperatures without contact, and detect fevers.

On March 16 and 17, protective suits, gloves, disinfectant, mobile intelligent temperature detectors and other supplies donated by Beijing to Tokyo and Yokohama arrived at Tokyo Narita Airport in two batches.

“Where sincerity is, flowers bloom.” This famous line from Sakamura Shinmin, who is hailed as “the people's poet” in Japan, was written on the boxes of donations, expressing the determination of Beijing and its sister cities in Japan to win the battle against COVID-19. On March 18, Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike sent a letter of appreciation to Cai Qi, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee.

▲ Beijing donates anti-epidemic supplies to Tokyo

On March 17, supplies donated by Beijing also arrived in Seoul. The donations came with the message: “Good neighborliness is what we value most. Only by working together can we tackle the challenge.” The cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 once again evidenced the friendship between the two cities. After receiving the supplies, the Mayor of Seoul, on behalf of local citizens, expressed deep appreciation for the donations and said they would promptly distribute the supplies to those working on the frontlines and the most vulnerable groups.

▲ Beijing donates anti-epidemic supplies to Seoul

Furthermore, after learning that the Czech Republic was in urgent need of testing kits, the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing immediately contacted Beijing Huaketai Biotechnology Company Limited to donate 6,000 testing kits to the Czech Republic. After using these testing kits, the Czech authorities purchased another 100,000 kits from Huaketai and recommended the company to Slovakia. The Ministry of Interior of Slovakia has decided to purchase 100,000 testing kits from the company.

Beijing shares experience on community response to COVID-19

In addition to donating supplies, Beijing has also actively shared with its sister cities what it did to contain COVID-19. On the afternoon of March 13, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a virtual meeting attended by health officials and experts from 17 Central and Eastern European countries, including Albania, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Estonia.

The Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing recommended Pan Ruifeng, Party Secretary and Neighborhood Director of the Xibianmen Dongli Community, Guang'anmen Sub-district, Xicheng District, as speaker at the meeting. At the Foreign Affairs Office, a sub-venue of the meeting, Pan shared with other attendees the community-based prevention and control measures, including community surveys, provision of daily supplies, home observation, volunteer services, and smart services.

These highly effective and well-targeted measures at the community level, as well as the unity and mutual help among the residents, won praise from many officials and experts from the sister cities. They believed they could learn a lot from Beijing's experience.

An official from the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing said that, though the epidemic had been a challenge for people's travels and interactions in the short term, the exchanges and cooperation between Beijing and its sister cities would remain unchanged. What happened between them during the epidemic has exemplified the saying “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” Acts such as exchanging letters of solidarity, donating supplies, and sharing experience have further consolidated the friendship between the cities.

“We believe Beijing and the sister cities affected by the epidemic will be able to defeat COVID-19 together, and work and life will return to normal soon,” the official from the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing said.