Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday sent a message of sympathy to India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar over the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country.

Wang said China empathizes with the challenge India is facing over the new outbreak and expresses its sincere sympathy.

Calling the virus a common enemy of all humankind which requires solidarity and concerted efforts from the international community to jointly deal with it, Wang said China firmly supports the Indian government and people in their fight against the pandemic.

China-produced anti-virus supplies are entering India at a faster pace to help fight the pandemic, Wang said, adding that Beijing will continue to maximize its efforts to provide support and help in accordance with India's requests.

It is hoped and believed that Indian people will, under the leadership of their government, achieve an early victory against COVID-19, he said.

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Wang later also spoke to Jaishankar on the phone, during which he doubled down China's maximum support and assistance to India. "We hope and believe that the government and the people of India will win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic," Wang said.

The Chinese diplomat added that China will also facilitate the transporting of epidemic prevention goods while actively sharing its virus prevention experience by hosting expert online meet-ups.

For his part, Jaishankar expressed appreciation for China's kindness. He spoke highly of the cooperative measures proposed by the Chinese side and vowed to step up COVID-19 prevention along with China.

India is experiencing the brunt of a new outbreak. Data from the country's health ministry shows that the COVID-19 tally reached 18,762,976 on Friday, with 386,452 new cases recorded during the previous 24 hours and 3,498 deaths taking the total toll to 208,330.

(Cover: A COVID-19 patient admitted to the temporary COVID-19 care center at the Commonwealth Games Village, New Delhi, India, April 29, 2021. /Getty)