SOURCE / COMPANIES
Many Chinese companies donate money and goods to help Xi’an during lockdown
Published: Jan 04, 2022 01:47 PM
Aerial photo taken on Dec. 28, 2021 shows the empty Great Tang All Day Mall in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Authorities in Xi'an have upgraded epidemic control and prevention measures starting Monday, ordering all residents to stay indoors and keep away from gatherings except when taking nucleic acid tests. (Xinhua)

Aerial photo taken on Dec. 28, 2021 shows the empty Great Tang All Day Mall in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Authorities in Xi'an have upgraded epidemic control and prevention measures starting Monday, ordering all residents to stay indoors and keep away from gatherings except when taking nucleic acid tests. (Xinhua)


 
As of Tuesday, many Chinese companies including Alibaba, Tencent, Xiaomi and Geely Auto have sent more than 100 million yuan ($15.74 million) in financial donations and supplies including vegetables, meat and masks to Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, as the city received helping hands from across the country as it continues to combat one of China's most severe COVID-19 outbreaks to date. 

BYD Auto announced on Tuesday that its charity foundation donated 10 million yuan and  personal protective equipment (PPE) worth 30 million yuan to Xi'an, in order to help fight against the epidemic. 

The company is not the only one that has provided funds and supplies to the COVID-19 struck city. One day earlier, another auto company Geely Auto, together with its foundation donated 30 million yuan to the region.

On New Year's Day, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Ant Group announced that the foundations of Alibaba and Alipay had donated 20 million yuan to support Xi'an's battle against the virus. 

Additionally, Taocaicai, a brand that specializes in community group buying under Alibaba, has urgently allocated more than 4,200 tons of essential goods and commodities  including vegetables and meat as well as PPE, including 300, 000 masks to Xi'an.

A total of 15 Hema Fresh locations in Xi'an, another domestic retail brand under Alibaba Group, has delivered essential goods and commodities for residents of more than 300 neighborhoods. 

On December 30, 2021, Chinese tech giant Tencent announced the first donation of 20 million yuan, which came from the 1.5 billion yuan of anti-epidemic fund set up by the company last year to combat the COVID-19, will be used for the purchase of PPE including medical protective masks and clothing.

Alongside these companies, a large number of Chinese enterprises including OPPO, Xiaomi, PDD and Xi'an-based photovoltaic giant Longi have donated 10 million yuan respectively, for the purchase of medical and essential goods needed to fight the epidemic.

Liang Wannian, head of the COVID-19 response expert panel under China's National Health Commission, said that China has a strong and efficient system to respond to epidemics, and when one region faces difficulties, the entire country reaches out to help, a key strength of China's system of governance. .

On Monday, the city identified another 95 confirmed local cases of COVID-19, indicating a downward trend of new cases, and again showing the effectiveness of the prevention and control measures used during the previous period of the epidemic.