Medical supplies donated by South West China's Chongqing Municipality to Armenia

Chinese medical donations to Armenia mentioning Mount Ararat, a controversial territory with Turkey, has sparked Turkey's discontent, with Chinese analysts noting that the misuse of the reference was likely caused by grassroots donors which does not represent China's official stance on the territory.  

Turkey's Anadolu Agency (AA) reported the controversial donation package, and  said that Chinese Ambassador to Turkey Deng Li explained the package only had Chinese scripts and the English versions were later added. But the Global Times learned from a source familiar with the situation that Deng's words were misreported. 

Deng said understanding of scripts on the donated supplies should stick to the Chinese, but he did not say the English scripts were later added, the source said. 

The medical supplies, including masks, protective outfits and ventilators, were transported by the Armenian government to the country on Wednesday. 

The Chinese Embassy in Turkey provided a photo of the supplies to the Global Times, which showed a Chinese verse of "peak of high mountains, banks of Yangtze River" on the packages. "May our friendship higher than Mount Ararat and longer than Yangtze River" is printed in English under the Chinese. 

The supplies were donated by Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality beside the Yangtze river. 

The controversial mountain is located at the border of Turkey, Armenia and Iran. It is 16 kilometers away from Iran's borders and 32 kilometers from Armenia's. The dispute between Turkey and Armenia started in World War I when control of the mountain shifted among multiple countries. The former Soviet Union signed a deal with Turkey in 1923 and stipulated the mountain as Turkish territory, but many Armenians still regard it as Armenia's. 

The mountain is considered the resting place of Noah's Ark, which is depicted in Armenia's national emblem. 

The AA report quoted Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy as saying that Ambassador Deng has "shown efforts to resolve the issue." "Ambassador Deng said their aid packages to Armenia were prepared by a local authority and were sent to Yerevan," Aksoy said. The local authority only wrote Chinese scripts on the packs, and there are no references to the mountain in them. "The references, which were written in English, were added later."

Aksoy added that Deng is investigating the situation, and Turkey will be informed of the results. "With this incident, (Deng) said he has full respect for Turkey's sovereignty and unity of land," Aksoy added. But local Turkish-language media Takvim reported the explanation was a "lie" because the English scripts were there when they left China. 

The source told the Global Times that Turkish social media started to pay attention to the incident on Thursday. The Chinese side has communicated with them, saying the meaning should stick to the Chinese, but did not say the English scripts were later added. "There could be misinterpretation," the source said. 

The ownership of the controversial Mount Ararat, or Mount Agri in Turkey, is a historical issue over which China does not take sides or join the disputes of other countries, said Wang Xianju, a research fellow at the Euro-Asian Social Development Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council in Beijing.

Wang told the Global Times that the donor may have used its name in Armenia as the supplies are heading to the country. The donor may use Mount Agri if the supplies are donated to Turkey. The use of the name does not mean the donors have preferences on the issue, he said. 

As for the ambassador's "full respect for Turkey's sovereignty and unity of land," Wang believes it does not refer to a specific mountain but is a statement of China's stance. Territorial disputes should be addressed through peaceful negotiations of countries involved, Wang said. 

Some Western media, including Radio French Internationale (RFI), picked up the incident and tried to hype it with sensational headlines like "Turkey takes off gloves" amid China's move to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The source noted the Turkish side is not obsessed with finding fault in China. The Turkish foreign ministry knew the procedure and some media personnel have told him in private that amid cooperation of countries to curb the pandemic, China did not do it deliberately.

"It is possible that the translation agency made the mistake as most Chinese people may not know the history between Turkey and Armenia involving the mountain, which is totally understandable," the source said.  

Wang believes the scripts on the donation package are aimed to show that people of the two countries help each other amid the global crisis.  

The COVID-19 pandemic is a shared enemy for all and countries should stick to the pandemic control, not having their attention diverted to other topics. "Turkey and Armenia are neighbors closely related and mutually dependent, and should cooperate in fighting the pandemic, which is most beneficial for people of the two countries," Wang said.