At the moment, the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been a major topic in China and around the world.

Like many Chinese, I closely follow the daily development of the situation and feel worried about increasing number of infections. Unfortunately, Finland confirmed the first case on January 29. A Chinese tourist was quarantined and diagnosed positive in Lapland, making Finland the third country with confirmed case in Europe.

Our embassy has contacted the patient and the hospital immediately after we got the news. Thanks to the timely and professional treatment of Finnish health departments, the patient is in stable condition now. And I'm also impressed by the calmness of Finnish society towards the not-fully-known virus. After all, sometimes panic can be more harmful than epidemic itself. I cannot help saying "Well done, Finland!"

As Ambassador, I have always been thinking of what we should do and what we can do. Before the confirmed case, our embassy has already followed the outbreak closely, even during the Chinese New Year holidays. My colleagues and I have met our Finnish counterparts from different Ministries and Departments. We are trying our best to work with Finland to exchange information and provide assistance if needed. Our counsels are getting in touch with the Chinese community and travelers in Finland on a daily basis, keeping them aware of emergency preparedness. We tweeted on our Tweet account and issued notices on our Wechat account. And of course, we will keep on our work and we are open to any suggestions.

Viruses don't have passports. So curbing virus is indeed a battle of mankind. China has been actively cooperating with the international community, especially the World Health Organization in an open and transparent manner. We have notified the relevant parties in time and shared the genetic sequence. In view of the current situation, the Chinese Government has taken decisive measures including locking up Wuhan City, canceling public events and building new hospitals. We feel grateful to those countries which provided medical protective equipment we badly need. Surely, faced with such a battle without borders, we all need supports and encouragement from each other.

We will continue work with Finland and with the international community. We are confident that with our joint efforts, we will win this battle finally.