Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian

The Chinese government will send a medical expert team to the Philippines to help battle COVID-19 at request, according to Chinese Ambassador to the Southeast Asian country, Huang Xilian, on Monday.

Huang, made the remarks during a phone call with the Secretary of the Philippines' Department of Health Francisco Duque, during which the two sides exchanged their views on fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Chinese diplomat said that at the request of the Philippine government, the Chinese government will send a medical expert team specializing in fighting and treating coronavirus, to provide technical guidance and share experiences in fields such as epidemic prevention and control, public health policy implementation and medical treatment.

Huang said he appreciated the work done by the Health Secretary and the Department of Health to promote the visit of the Chinese medical expert team to the Philippines. 

The Chinese Embassy is willing to work closely with the Philippine Department of Health, as well as other relevant departments and the local Chinese community to ensure that the medical expert team is well connected and prepared to fully help the Philippines in responding to the epidemic, Huang said. 

On his part, the head of the Philippine Health Department expressed his appreciation and gratitude to China for supporting and assisting the Philippines in fighting the epidemic, and the department and he are very much looking forward to the arrival of the Chinese medical expert team. 

The Philippine side will do its best to provide all necessary convenience to facilitate the Chinese expert team's work in the country. 

During the phone call, Huang also extended condolences to the Philippine side over a plane crash that took place on Sunday night. The small plane bound for Japan that was used as an air ambulance by the Philippine health department to fight the coronavirus outbreak crashed on take-off on Sunday night at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, killing all eight people on board.

Duque, the Philippine Health Department chief appreciated such gestures. 

The Philippines reported 1,546 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection as of Monday afternoon, according to the Philippines Department of Heath website.