On November 5, 2014, when Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing with visiting Foreign Minister Charles Koffi Diby of Côte d'Ivoire, Foreign Minister Diby, on behalf of the Ivorian government, sincerely thanked the Chinese government for its timely financial and material aid to Côte d'Ivoire and other West African countries for the prevention and control of the Ebola epidemic. Diby said that China's aid has greatly enhanced the epidemic prevention capacity construction of West African countries and boosted African people's firm confidence in overcoming the epidemic at last. Côte d'Ivoire has not been hit by Ebola till now, for which an important reason is China's sincere, timely and effective assistance.

Wang Yi said that China and Africa are good brothers sharing weal and woe. When African brothers meet the Ebola epidemic, the Chinese government and people are empathetic and obligatory to lend a hand with full efforts. China is still a developing country, yet we have made the maximum effort within our capabilities. China's assistance has the following distinctive features, which have been widely accepted and welcomed by African countries and the international community at large.

First, act quickly and remain long. After the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic this March, China instantly provided the most needed cash and material assistance to the affected countries, and constantly adjusted and supplemented the assistance list based on the progression of the epidemic and wishes of the countries concerned. So far, four rounds of assistance have been provided.

Second, stick to the frontline and fight Ebola shoulder by shoulder with the people in the epidemic area. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the long-term medical teams China assigned to the three epidemic-hit countries have stood fast at their posts, and carried out prevention and control work on the spot. At the moment, the epidemic area sees over 200 Chinese experts and medical care personnel fighting at the frontline of preventing and controlling the epidemic. Recently, China has decided to assign more experts and medical care personnel to the epidemic area.

Third, focus on the actual effect and are concerned with the needs and demands of the people in the epidemic area. China's assistance includes not only "hard assistance" such as epidemic prevention materials, cash and food, but also "soft assistance" such as experts and medical care personnel, as well as assistance to the building of mobile laboratories and observation centers in Sierra Leone and treatment centers in Liberia. All of these are the most urgent and the most practical assistance needed by the epidemic countries.

Fourth, cover a wide area and promptly help Africa build a regional epidemic prevention net. China has not only provided timely epidemic prevention materials to the three epidemic-hit countries as well as their ten surrounding countries including Côte d'Ivoire, but also offered financial and political support to the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the African Union and other international and regional organizations, which has made positive contributions to curbing the spread of the epidemic.

Fifth, take a long-term view. China's plan for the fourth round of assistance has begun to focus on the "post-Ebola period", aiming to help the epidemic area and African countries strengthen the construction of their public health security systems and capabilities.