Members of the Chinese medical team make a vow before leaving for Cambodia in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 23, 2020. (Xinhua/Cao Yiming)
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Wednesday that Chinese medical experts and medical supplies are crucial to help the kingdom fight against COVID-19.
A team of seven Chinese medical experts from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region arrived in Phnom Penh via a special chartered plane on Monday, bringing along with tons of medical supplies to assist the country to combat the virus.
"Our partner, China, has come to help us, and we've got information from our Chinese friends that the medical supplies that arrived (on Monday) were just in the first phase, as more will be subsequently arriving in Cambodia based on our needs," Hun Sen said during a meeting with a group of local volunteer doctors in Phnom Penh.
The prime minister extended his profound gratitude to China for the assistance and expressed his confidence in the abilities of the Chinese medical team in helping the kingdom fight against the virus.
Besides working with China, he said Cambodia has also worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other development partners to combat the virus.
Hun Sen praised China for sending its medical staff and supplies to many countries that are being hit by COVID-19, particularly to Italy, Spain, and France.
Meanwhile, the prime minister criticized certain Western countries for using "double standards" to define the COVID-19 lockdown.
He said when China locked down Wuhan city, they accused China of restricting freedom, but when they locked down their own countries, they said they took a measure to contain the COVID-19 spread.
Cambodia has so far recorded a total of 93 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Six of them, a Chinese man, a British woman and four Cambodian men, have fully recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
