The Chinese government has, on nearly 200 occasions, provided emergency aid to foreign countries in the past five years, according to a white paper on China's foreign aid released Thursday.

Over the years, China has taken an active part in emergency relief operations in foreign countries, and has been playing a more important role in international emergency humanitarian relief, says the white paper issued by the Information Office of the State Council.

In December 2004, when a tsunami hit countries by the Indian Ocean, China launched the largest ever emergency relief operation in its history, providing 700 million yuan worth of aid to the disaster-stricken countries.

To make relief actions quicker and more effective, the Chinese government formally established a response mechanism for emergency humanitarian relief and aid in foreign countries in September 2004, says the white paper.

The Chinese government's emergency aid on almost 200 occasions in five years included offering emergency technical aid to Southeast Asian countries for the prevention and treatment of bird flu; providing emergency aid in materials and cash to Guinea-Bissau hit by a locust plague and cholera, to Ecuador to fight dengue fever and to Mexico to fight influenza A (H1N1).

The Chinese government also assisted Iran, Pakistan, Haiti and Chile following severe earthquakes, Madagascar after a hurricane, Myanmar and Cuba following tropical storms, and Pakistan following a flood. In addition, it sent emergency food aid to DPRK, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Burundi, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and other countries.

Emergency humanitarian aid is provided when a country or region suffers a severe natural or humanitarian disaster. In such cases, China provides materials or cash for emergency relief or dispatches relief personnel of its own accord or at the victim country's request, so as to reduce losses of life and property in disaster-stricken areas and help the victim country tackle difficulties caused by the disaster.

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