Chinese missions assist students living abroad

Customs staff asks a passenger about his personal information after he arrived in Beijing, on March 21, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has mobilized over 280 diplomatic missions overseas to solve issues that its students abroad are facing regarding COVID-19 prevention, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Chinese embassies and consulates have been keeping close contact with students studying abroad and have urged host countries to make effective efforts to safeguard the health, safety and legitimate rights of the students, a spokesperson said in the statement.

After the outbreak of COVID-19, overseas Chinese students donated money and goods in support of the fight against the epidemic to the homeland, which reflected their patriotism, the statement said.

According to the statement, China has arranged chartered flights to bring back Chinese citizens from Iran and Italy, two countries that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

The embassies and consulates have also forwarded guidelines related to the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus to overseas Chinese students through multiple channels, have invited medical experts to share professional and science-based knowledge and have offered guidance on self-protection and pandemic prevention through online chat.

They have also distributed "health kits" containing epidemic prevention materials and guidelines to the students and have answered questions to help solve their problems.

Noting there are still high risks of a rebound of the pandemic at the domestic level, the statement said that the spread of the pandemic overseas has brought new challenges to China.

Although the number of international flights has been reduced due to the pandemic, most of the inbound travelers are overseas Chinese students, it said.

Basing on advice from the World Health Organization, experts on disease control said that cross-border movements should be minimized under the current situation, the statement said.

China has noticed that there are still some overseas students facing various difficulties abroad and need to return to China, it said.

China's aviation regulator said on Monday that it would arrange additional or chartered flights to bring back its citizens stuck abroad due to the pandemic, based on the demands of overseas Chinese and domestic local governments' capability of handling inbound passengers.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that those who returned to China should abide by epidemic prevention regulations, including testing and quarantine after entry.