China-Italy Stand Together in Fight Against Coronavirus

A painting, "Everything Will be Fine", depicting an Italian and Chinese medical staff holding the Italian map together has been widely shared online. The image was created by a high school Italian student Aurora Cantone. She said that she made the image to thank the medical staff on the front line, and the Chinese medical staff who have been sent to help in Italy. Hua Chunying, director of the Information Department of the Ministry of foreign affairs of China, also tweeted the picture and said "We met after 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China, and again we meet against #COVID19 in Italy. We are family, we are together."

Shortly after the image and her post was published on Instagram, it received a significant amount of attention. A netizen later forwarded it to twitter with the caption:

 "An 18-year-old girl created this painting, and she hopes that people in the front line can see it. She is a loving, talented girl." 

So many people have shown their appreciation for the other country in a show of solidarity during the difficult period.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said China sent a nine person medical team to Italy on March 12 to help contain covid-19. Geng Shuang, the spokesman, said at a press conference that the panel left Shanghai earlier in the day and went to Rome with intensive care and medical protection equipment. Geng said that since the outbreak of the epidemic, China and the EU have been in close communication and cooperation. The two sides have formed a joint expert group composed of officials and experts from the National Health Commission of China and the China Center for Disease Control and prevention, the General Administration of health and food safety of the European Commission and the European Center for Disease Control and prevention.

"The expert group held its third video conference on Wednesday to have an in-depth exchange of views on the latest situation of the epidemic, prevention and containment measures, diagnosis and screening, and agreed to further strengthen the exchange of experience and technology to jointly fight the disease and safeguard regional and global public health," the spokesman said.