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| Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming speaks during a press conference at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
The new Chinese ambassador to Korea said Tuesday Korea and China need to understand and help each other to tackle the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak.
However, he indirectly criticized the Korean government's decision to ban the entry of foreign nationals who have traveled to China's Hubei Province within the past 14 days, stressing that an entry ban should be based on scientific evidence.
Xing Haiming, who arrived in Korea last Thursday, held a press conference at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul ― a rare move for a new envoy who has yet to present his credentials to President Moon Jae-in. Fluent in Korean due to his previous experience at Chinese embassies in both North and South Korea, Xing spoke almost entirely in Korean during the press conference.
"China and Korea have been friendly neighbors to each other amid growing human exchanges. I hope both countries will understand and support each other," Xing said.
"Korea has given a lot of support to China in its fight against the coronavirus and the Chinese government deeply appreciates it, while our people will never forget it."
He also said Beijing fully cooperated with Seoul in the evacuation of Koreans living in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, despite the many challenges it faced. Last week, the Korean government sent two chartered flights to Wuhan and retrieved 701 citizens from the eastern Chinese city.
Xing went on to talk about bilateral support between the two countries at times of need.
"In 2003 when severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) broke out, former President Roh Moo-hyun paid a state visit to China, which was a big support for China, and when Korea was hit hard by Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015, Zhang Dejiang, then-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, visited Korea, which also drew support from the Korean people," he said
On Tuesday, Korea's entry ban of people from Hubei Province took effect and the ambassador said countries should make a science-based analysis before implementing such a measure.
"I do not want to make an evaluation of the Korean government's decision, but each country should follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO)," he said.
On Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there was no need for measures that "unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade" as part of global efforts to contain the coronavirus. The recommendation came after the U.S. government decided to bar entry of foreign nationals who have set foot in China in the last 14 days ― a measure that drew criticism from the Chinese foreign ministry.
"WHO is the most scientific, authoritative organization on health issues, and I believe that we can base our decisions on WHO recommendations," Xing said.
Regarding the WHO's declaration of the coronavirus as a global health emergency, the ambassador said the action did not target his country but others with poor public health systems.
In addition, he said the epidemic would peak in the next seven to 10 days before it would be effectively contained.
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