Chinese Medical Expert Team arrives in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), on June 2, 2026, for a mission to support the country's response to the Ebola outbreak. Photo: Xinhua

China stands ready to provide more medical support to Africa within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and calls for the international community to enhance solidarity and cooperation to increase support for African countries, in regard to the ongoing Ebola outbreak on the continent, according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong made the remarks on Tuesday when addressing the High-Level Meeting of African Heads of State and Government and Partners on the Ebola Disease Outbreak via video link.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity and a global community of health for all has charted the course for international cooperation in fighting the outbreak.

Noting that China and Africa have always been a community with a shared future, Liu said China has provided emergency humanitarian assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the African Union (AU), and dispatched medical expert teams to the DRC, the readout said.

Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 Chinese medical professionals who are working in African countries stand side by side with local people in combating the disease, Liu said.

At a regular press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian briefed the media on China's participation in the meeting, saying that China will implement the Partnership Action for Health under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and provide assistance to the best of our capability in combating the outbreak. "We call on the international community to strengthen solidarity and cooperation to help Africa defeat the outbreak at an early date," Lin added.

According to the official website of the African Union, the virtual meeting served as a platform to mobilize urgent political commitment, financial resources, and operational support to strengthen Africa's collective response to the outbreak and reinforce continental health security.

Burundian President and current Chairperson of the AU Evariste Ndayishimiye chaired the meeting. Heads of state and government from more than 10 African countries, including South Africa, Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, attended the meeting. Representatives from international and regional organizations such as the World Health Organization and partners from outside the region also attended the meeting, per the Xinhua News Agency.

Addressing the meeting, the head of Africa's Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned that the Ebola outbreak in DRC could be the worst ever, and that currently tens of thousands of ⁠contacts of those ill with the disease had not been traced, Reuters reported.

"If we don't stop the outbreak very soon it will be worse than what we had in West Africa and eastern ‌DRC," ⁠Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told the virtual meeting. He ⁠was referring to the outbreak that affected Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone ⁠in 2014-2016 that killed over 11,000 people and a ⁠less deadly 2018 outbreak in DRC, per Reuters.

Amid the grim situation of the ongoing spread of the Ebola outbreak in parts of Africa, the Chinese government has decided to provide additional emergency humanitarian assistance on top of its previous anti‑outbreak support for Africa. The assistance includes continued aid to the DRC, a batch of anti‑outbreak supplies for Uganda, and sustained support for Africa CDC to fulfil its mandate, helping Africa contain the outbreak at an early date, Tang Ying, spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said on Wednesday.

The ⁠number of confirmed cases in ⁠the DRC has increased to 837, including 196 deaths, ‌government data showed on Tuesday. Neighboring Uganda has recorded 19 cases, 14 of them among people who had travelled from the DRC. The country has also reported two deaths, according to the Al Jazeera.

A ⁠Red Cross official said that the outbreak had not yet peaked in the DRC. "We ⁠are afraid that this could last one year to end this disease," said Bruno Michon, operations manager for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Al Jazeera reported.

Zhuang Shilihe, a Guangzhou-based medical expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday that given the outbreak situation, case numbers across Africa are likely to keep rising in the coming months. The security situation in the DRC may also hamper medical‑relief personnel operating in outbreak‑hit regions.

Amid the ongoing outbreak in Africa, China's National Disease Control and Prevention Administration released an updated Ebola prevention and control plan Tuesday, setting out tracking and health management requirements for people arriving from affected regions.

The plan requires health monitoring and management for people arriving in China from Ebola-affected countries or regions, foreign nationals who traveled to affected areas within 21 days before entering China, and Chinese citizens returning from outbreak zones. 

Zhuang noted that this plan represents proactive contingency preparation given the currently low overall domestic risk level. It helps authorities enforce more detailed preventive measures.