Chinese direct aid to EU delivered to Italy

A Chinese plane carrying direct aid from China to the European Union (EU) has arrived in Italy, the bloc's executive arm said on Monday.

The European Commission said at a press release that the Chinese plane delivered two million surgical masks, 200,000 N95 masks and 50,000 test kits to Italy.

Following the direct donation from China to the EU, the bloc's Emergency Response Coordination Center coordinated the distribution to Italy.

The second batch of Chinese COVID-19 experts in Italy. /courtesy of the team

"We are grateful for China's support and, as (European Commission) President (Ursula) von der Leyen stated, we need each other's support in times of need," said Janez Lenarcic, commissioner for Crisis Management, in the press release.

"The EU and China have been working together since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. In February, the EU already delivered 56 tons of equipment to China," Lenarcic added.

Chinese experts help Italy, other countries fight COVID-19 pandemic

So far, China has sent three teams of medical experts to Italy to help control the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Sunday, Italy reported its lowest daily COVID-19 death toll for more than two weeks as authorities began to look ahead to a second phase of the battle against the new coronavirus once the lockdown imposed almost a month ago is eventually eased.