On 14 May, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had phone calls with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjártó, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bisera Turković, and Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu.

Wang said that under the personal leadership and direction of President Xi Jinping, China has made tremendous efforts to combat COVID-19 and has brought the situation under control. At the moment, China is resuming normal life and work step by step while keeping up necessary containment measures.

Wang expressed China's deep appreciation to the three countries for their solidarity and support for its battle against COVID-19. Despite its own difficulties, China has provided a great deal of support and assistance to the three countries, shared experience on containment and treatment without reservation, and facilitated their procurement of medical supplies from China.

Wang pointed out that the anti-epidemic cooperation will provide opportunities for and inject fresh impetus to the growth of bilateral relations between China and the three countries. Wang expressed confidence that China's friendship and cooperation with each country will be further strengthened and upgraded as they weather the trying time together.

Wang said that viruses respect no borders and do not distinguish between races, and mankind is a community with a shared future. The fight against COVID-19 calls for international coordination. It also provides an opportunity for the world to come together and help each other out. Yet, politicians from a certain country have recently kept politicizing the disease, labeling the virus and discrediting the WHO. Such moves, which grossly violate international justice and disrupt the collective international response, must be jointly rejected by the international community.

Describing the China-CEEC (17+1) cooperation as a new cross-regional cooperation mechanism, Wang noted that all participants have played a positive role in taking such cooperation forward. Despite certain impact from COVID-19, the participants have never pulled back from their commitment or stopped moving forward. China will stay in communication and coordination with relevant countries to advance 17+1 cooperation for greater progress in the post-COVID-19 era.

The three foreign ministers all expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for supporting and assisting their COVID-19 response and hailed such support as emblematic of the friendship between their countries and China. The three countries are ready to step up cooperation with China and the wider international community to secure an early victory over the disease.

Szijjártó reaffirmed Hungary's long-standing commitment to the one-China principle, which is the political foundation of the bilateral relationship, and stated that Hungary does not support Taiwan's accession to the WHO.

Turković said that Bosnia and Herzegovina advocates a science-based approach and humanitarianism in the international fight against the virus, and supports the role of the WHO in collective international response. She reaffirmed Bosnia and Herzegovina's commitment to the one-China principle, and noted that her country welcomes more investment from Chinese businesses and looks forward to further strengthening economic and trade ties with China.

Reinsalu highlighted Estonia's commitment to moving forward coordinated actions and stronger cooperation of the international community in the joint battle against the virus. He expressed deep appreciation for China's full support and cooperation for Estonia's Security Council rotating presidency. Estonia wants to step up coordination and cooperation with China within the Security Council to facilitate the positive role of the Council in the global fight against COVID-19.