Jacques Liao, Executive Director of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), has said the provision of medical supplies and the invitation of the 15-man medical team by the company to Nigeria in the fight against the novel Coronavirus is a humanitarian gesture and not for economic gains.
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Speaking in an interview, Liao said the company as a corporate entity operating in Nigeria provided the support as it is concerned about the well-being of Nigerians.
He explained that the CCECC is in “the same boat with Nigerians”, noting that the pandemic is hurting firms globally and that the company would also be affected if anything untoward happens in the country.
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“It is not economic. It is more a humanitarian effort to contain the outbreak. China needs a healthy and prosperous world as much as the world needs China. We all have a shared future. Moreover, medical supplies from China these trying times are towards humanitarian efforts and when they are sold, it is at regular prices, they did not hike their prices,” Liao told the Punch.
“Nobody is benefiting from the pandemic; looking at the GDP growth of each country in the first quarter, you would know there is trouble. In China, it was over six per cent, but now, it has dropped a lot. In some countries, it is in the negative territory. January, February, even most time of March, everybody stayed at home, there was no production. This has significant impact on the global economy.”
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Liao also addressed the opposition of the Chinese medical team arrival in Nigeria, particularly by the Nigerian Medical Association, saying such criticism is “due to misunderstanding and misinformation”.
He stated that contrary to the information circulating on social media, Nigerians should ask the French and Spanish governments about the authenticity of the testing kits and other medical equipment supplied to both countries by China.
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The CCECC Director also debunked claims that the novel Coronavirus was created in a laboratory, insisting that the Asian giant would not develop a disease to deliberately kill its citizens.
“On the Internet, Twitter and other social media, people have read that China sent some doctors or China sent contaminated kits to some places and positive cases are coming out because of that. I don’t know why they think so. First, the virus is not man-made. China would not have had so many people dying; we cannot be killing ourselves,” Liao said.
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