China and Thailand are neighbors and close friends, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in a phone call on Tuesday, adding that China will continue to protect the health of Thai citizens in China as it protects its own citizens amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

Don Pramudwinai said Thailand supports China's efforts in fighting pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus and is willing to provide all possible help. Thailand will always stand with China, he stressed. 

Wang thanked Thailand for its firm support and assistance, noting that the two countries always support each other with utmost efforts when either of them is in difficulty. 

China and ASEAN countries have worked together and won the battles against major challenges such as the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, he said, expressing confidence in winning the battle against the current epidemic together. 

Wang also had a phone conversation about the novel coronavirus outbreak with Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Palamagamba Kabudi on Tuesday, calling Tanzania a trustworthy friend of China. 

Kabudi said Tanzania stands firmly with China at this difficult moment and thanked China for protecting Tanzanian citizens in China. 

(Cover: Volunteers disinfect a railway station in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, February 4, 2020. /Photo via Chinanews.com)