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Dr. Christoph Leitl, president of the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Monday that Shanghai is a safe place and he was optimistic about the health security in the city and even the whole country.
Leitl arrived this week in the east China metropolis as the head of a delegation of 30 representatives from Austrian business circles. He said the trip received support from the Shanghai government and many cooperative partners and he found no reason not to visit.
Leitl said before leaving for China he consulted some medical experts who told him that the possibility of contracting atypical pneumonia in Shanghai is the same as that in Austria.
It means the possibility is very, very small and Shanghai is a safe city, explained Leitl, who is also the president of the Federal Economic Chamber of the Republic of Austria.
As part of their busy timetable in Shanghai, the delegation signed a contract Monday on a training program for medical staff with the Shanghai-based Fudan University. Leitl was also expected to meet Tuesday with Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng and chief officials with the Shanghai Development Planning Commission.
Leitl said he has been to China twice before and met many Austrian people who told him they led a good life in Shanghai.
The atypical pneumonia epidemic was first reported in south China's Guangdong province on Jan. 23, and by April 5, 1,247 cases had been reported in the inland areas of China, and 51 had died, according to sources from the Ministry of Health.
(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2003)
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