Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi explained here Tuesday why a team of Chinese seismologists and a Chinese medical team scheduled to go to India for disaster-relief assistance did not make the trip.
The Chinese government had planned to send the two teams to the quake-hit Indian state of Gujarat to help attend the injured people and assist with disaster-relief work, Sun said. However, according to the Indian side, there are already been many medical teams there, and China so canceled the trip, said the spokesman.
As a friendly neighbor of India, China sincerely hopes that the disaster-relief and reconstruction work will soon be carried out in the quake-hit state, Sun said, adding that China is willing to offer assistance in the future if necessary.
(People’s Daily 02/07/2001)