Stand Together to Overcome Difficulties
患难与共，共克时艰
A Signed Article by Ambassador Jin Zhijian Published on Visir
驻冰岛大使金智健在冰岛指针网站发表署名文章
23 April 2020
2020年4月23日
The current global outbreak of COVID-19 is ravaging the world and no country alone can address this severe challenge. In this ongoing battle against the pandemic, the governments and peoples of China and Iceland understand and support each other, and open a new chapter of bilateral relations.
当前，肆虐全球的新冠肺炎疫情给人类带来严峻挑战，没有哪个国家能独善其身。在与疫情斗争过程中，中冰两国政府和人民相互理解与支持，谱写出双边关系发展的新篇章。
The pandemic first struck Wuhan City of Hubei Province in China at the turn of this year. The Chinese government has led the whole nation to resolutely fight the pandemic and forged the front line of global defense at the huge sacrifice and cost of our own. China’s aggressive approach has won the world valuable time and made important contribution in the global battle against the pandemic.
岁末年初，疫情突降中国湖北省武汉市,中国政府带领全国人民坚决抗击疫情，以巨大牺牲和代价筑起全球防疫第一道防线，为全球抗疫斗争赢得宝贵时间，做出重要贡献。
The Icelandic government and people, thousands of miles away, have been closely following the footprint of the pandemic in China. President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson and Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland sent letters to Chinese leaders respectively and expressed their sincere sympathies, condolences and best wishes to the Chinese people who have been hit hard by the pandemic. The public support for China in Iceland has been heartwarming. Icelandic Chinese Cultural Society and Kopavogur, Wuhan’s friendship city, took the lead in supporting China. Iceland musician Doctor Victor signaled in his music piece that “The virus is our common enemy, let’s unite and fight the epidemic together.” Business and academic circles made videos in both English and Chinese to cheer for China. The Icelandic Overseas Chinese Association acted quickly to donate to Wuhan Tongji Hospital while offering medical supplies. These touching moments created a great internet sensation and spread widely in China.
万里之遥的冰岛政府和人民密切关注着中国疫情的发展。约翰内松总统、雅各布斯多蒂尔总理分别致信中国领导人，向饱受疫情之苦的中国人民表达深切同情、慰问与祝福。冰岛民间声援此起彼伏，冰岛中国文化协会、武汉市友城科波沃市率先予以中方支持，音乐人Doctor Victor高声疾呼“病毒是我们共同的敌人，团结一致，共抗疫情”，商学界朋友精心录制了温馨加油视频，在冰华人协会带头向武汉同济医院捐款并提供医疗物资。这些友好举动的信息通过网络传到中国各地，令人感动。
Iceland, a pure land on earth, has confirmed its first case of coronavirus on Feb 28th. China shared Iceland’s grief and sorrow. President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang of China sent letters to their counterparts in Iceland and expressed heartfelt sympathies. Both emphasized that China was willing to work together with Iceland with all possible assistance to fight against COVID-19. The Chinese side maintained close communication with the Icelandic health authorities, and provided important information and experience to fight the virus in a timely manner. The Director of Health and chief epidemiologist from the Directorate of Health of Iceland were invited to participate in the China-Europe Video Conference on COVID-19 organized by China, and discussed with medical personnel from China and Europe about the action plan. Upon learning that Iceland needs to purchase medical materials from China, the Chinese Embassy in Iceland moved quickly to assist Iceland in handling the procurement and transportation of medical goods in China. We have also coordinated six Chinese organizations and companies to donate 322,000 Medical Face Masks, 2080 Disposable Protective Gowns and 2000 Medical Face Shields, with a total value of 35 million krona. I have delivered the list of above-mentioned medical supplies to Landspitali on April 22, and I sincerely hope these medical supplies can help Iceland to win the battle against the pandemic as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the Icelandic language students of Beijing Foreign Studies University have made videos by themselves to cheer for Iceland. Their warm blessings in Icelandic have aroused positive reactions in Iceland local community.
2月28日疫情登陆冰岛这一人间净土，中国对此感同身受。习近平主席、李克强总理致信冰方领导人表示诚挚慰问，强调中方愿同冰方携手抗疫并向冰方提供力所能及帮助。中方与冰卫生部门保持着密切沟通，及时分享疫情信息和防控经验，邀请冰卫生局长、首席流行病学家与欧洲卫生专家一道共同参加中方举办的疫情防控视频会议，共商应对疫情之策。获悉冰方需从中方购买医疗物资信息后，中国驻冰岛使馆迅速行动，全力协助冰方办理在华采购和运输医用货物事宜，并协调6家中国机构和企业向冰方捐赠包括32.2万只医用口罩、2080套防护服、2000个防护面罩在内约合3500万冰岛克朗的物资。我本人于4月22日向冰岛国家医院负责人转交了中方捐赠物品清单，希望能有助于冰岛早日战胜疫情。北京外国语大学冰岛语专业学生自发录制视频为冰岛加油，他们用冰岛语道出的温暖祝福在冰社会引起积极反响。
Although thousands of miles apart with different national conditions, the peoples of China and Iceland are always closely connected. Whether it was the help China offered after the volcanic eruption in Iceland in 1973 or during the financial crisis of 2008, or Iceland helping China after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, we have always stood together and supported each other. The joint efforts in fighting the pandemic once again highlighted the friendly relations between our two countries as well as our firm determination to overcome all difficulties in these dark times. Let us look forward to the coming blossom spring in the wake of crisis. I fully believe China Iceland bilateral relations will enter a new phase in the following year when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries.
中冰两国虽相隔万里，国情不同，但两国人民间的心却紧紧相连。无论是1973年冰岛西人岛火山爆发、2008年金融危机时中国政府施以援手，还是2008年冰方积极支援中国汶川地震灾区重建，两国人民始终同力协契、守望相助。此次中冰携手抗疫再次凸显了中冰间友好关系以及两国患难与共、共克时艰的决心。让我们共同期待冬去终有时、花开满人间的美好明天，相信在明年迎来中冰建交50周年之际，中冰关系将会迈入新阶段。
Chinese Ambassador to Iceland Jin Zhijian
中国驻冰岛大使 金智健