March 9, 2020

Global coronavirus cases have exceeded 100,000 over the weekend and spread to more than 100 countries and regions. Countries like Italy have begun adopting unprecedented large-scale city lockdown measures. Some Western media outlets and officials blamed China for being slowly responding to the outbreak, leading to a global crisis and exporting the virus to the world, despite that China's experiences of handling the coronavirus have been proven to be effective. In addition to battling virus, the country is quickly recovering as the world's factory, shifting from a receiver of support to an active contributor to the global virus fight, which has become more intensive due to recent case surges in Europe and the US. 

In face of fast rise of confirmed cases, which has made several states declare a state of emergency, US President Donald Trump's administration, struggling to cope with a shortage of medical devices such as face masks, protective suits and test kits, lifted import restrictions by granting tariff relief for medical equipment. Meanwhile, demand for such equipment in European countries such as Italy and France keeps growing. 

"China encourages domestic makers of medical goods and preventive supplies to meet growing overseas demand," Cao Xuejun, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), was quoted as saying in recent media reports. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce said the country imposes no export bans on masks.

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https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1181978.shtml