On December 31, 2004, Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Lu Shumin attended the ceremony held in the Indonesian Foreign Ministry to honor the donation of relief materials by the Chinese government to the Indonesian government for the relief efforts in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami disaster along the coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia. On behalf of the Chinese government, Lu delivered the emergency relief material worth RMB 5,000,000 to the Indonesian representative, General Secretary Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. This batch of relief materials including tents, blankets and foods arrived in Medan City, Indonesia on December 30 by charter flight.

On the donation ceremony, Ambassador Lu conveyed the condolence of the Chinese government and people to the people in the disaster-hit areas of Aceh and North Sumatra and said that Indonesia is a friendly neighbor of China and the Chinese government and people are deeply sympathetic with the Indonesian people for what they suffered and willing to provide assistance in their capacity to help people in those areas overcome difficulties and rebuild their homes. He was convinced that with the joint effort and help of the international community, the Indonesian government and people can surely defeat the disaster and restore their normal production and living order at the earliest possible date. General Secretary Sudjadnan extended heartfelt thanks to the Chinese government for the humanitarian emergency assistance to Indonesia on behalf of the Indonesian government.

The batch of relief material worth RMB 5,000,000 is the first batch of relief goods provided by the Chinese government to Indonesia. The Chinese government will continue to provide various kinds of assistance according to the latest developments of the disaster. The Chinese International Search and Rescue Team composed of 35 staffs arrived in Medan City on the early morning of December 31, 2004 and were ready to devote themselves to the relief work in Aceh. The Chinese ventures in Indonesia also took active measures and were earnest to donate money and materials. Up to now, the cash donation has amounted to US$ 131,000 and the material donation amounted to US$ 880,000, including drugs and program-controlled exchanges.

On December 26, along the coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia witnessed a devastating earthquake of 9.0 degree on the Richter scale, which resulted in tsunami in the Indian Ocean, affecting the countries around it, including India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives and causing heavy casualties. Indonesia is the worst hit country. According to the statistics released by the Ministry of Health of Indonesia, almost 80,000 people have died in the disaster by December 30, 2004.