Solidarity shown as Chinese, European companies join fight against Covid-19 众志成城，中欧公司抗“疫“进行时

While China is seeing its new confirmed cases of the deadly Covid-19 in drastic decline, Europe, unfortunately, has now become the new epicenter of the pandemic. As the outbreak, which by early March 23 has killed over 14,700 people and sickened 340,000 more globally, is taking a heavy toll on our healthcare, manufacturing, industries, and daily lives, Chinese and European companies are ramping up their efforts to support Europe’s battle against Covid-19, showing solidarity that is much needed at this critical and challenging moment.

中国新型冠状病毒肺炎新增确诊病例正急剧下降，不幸的是，欧洲现在却成为该全球性大流行病新疫情中心。截至3月23日早晨，新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情在全球已造成1万4千7百多人死亡，超34万人确诊，沉重打击了我们的医疗、制造业、工业和日常生活。目前，中国和欧洲的公司都在加大支持欧洲抗击疫情，在这一关键而极富挑战性的时间点上共同展示了难能可贵的团结一心。

Photo: @China Daily. 照片来源：《中国日报》

Trip.com Group, China’s largest online travel services provider and a worldwide leading one, on March 18 announced to donate 1 million surgical masks to epidemic-stricken Italy, Germany, France, UK, Australia, the US, Canada, and many others. This marked the latest move of the company, itself a victim of Covid-19 due to the virus’s giant blow to the tourism industry in China and beyond, to safeguard travelers, minimize impact, and combat the virus.

中国最大、也是国际领先的在线旅行服务提供商携程集团于3月18日宣布，向深陷疫情的意大利、德国、法国、英国以及澳大利亚、美国，加拿大等国家捐赠100万个外科口罩。新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情对中国和世界各地旅游业造成巨大损失，虽然携程本身就是疫情受害者之一，但此举是其保护游客、抗击病毒、减少影响的又一最新举措。

Photo: @Trip.com Group 照片来源：携程公司

The Group’s efforts were joined by peers in China and Europe. On March 22, French luxury group Kering announced that it will provide the French health service with 3 million surgical masks, apart from a series of donations in finance or medical supplies previously made to Italy and China; on March 18, a cargo plane carrying 1.5 million masks was wheels down in Liege Airport, the biggest cargo airport in Belgium and the first European partner to join the Electronic World Trade Platform initiated by China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba. The supplies, donated by Jack Ma, Alibaba’s founder, were supposed to be delivered to France, Slovenia, and Belgium. A few days earlier, donations of millions of masks and test kits from Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation had reached their destinations in Italy, Belgium, and other European countries. Alibaba’s logistic arm Cainiao Network announced that it will charter five cargo flights a week from China’s eastern city Hangzhou to Liege Airport, fully loaded with medical supplies.

其他中欧同行也都纷纷驰援欧洲。3月22日，法国时尚巨头开云集团宣布将为法国医疗服务捐赠300万个医用口罩，此前该集团已向意大利和中国提供了系列资金或医疗用品上的支持；3月18日，一架载有150万个口罩的货机降落在比利时最大货运机场列日机场，列日机场亦是首个欧洲加入中国电子商务巨头阿里巴巴所倡导的世界电子贸易平台的合作伙伴。这些口罩由阿里巴巴创始人马云的基金会捐赠，将运往法国、斯洛文尼亚和比利时。前几日，马云基金会和阿里巴巴基金会捐赠的数百万个口罩和病毒试剂已抵达意大利、比利时和其他欧洲国家。阿里巴巴菜鸟物流公司宣布每周安排五趟从中国杭州飞往列日机场的货运航班，用来运载医疗用品。

Photo: @Jack Ma Foundation 照片来源：马云基金会

Italy, by now the most hit country by Covid-19 outside of China, has received plenty of supplies and funds from Chinese and European companies. Huawei Italy on March 16 announced to donate 200,000 FFP2 CE type masks to Milan after 1,000 protective suits had been addressed to some hospitals in the city; on March 11, the Italian football club Inter Milan and its Chinese owner Suning International, donated 300,000 medical masks and other healthcare products to the Italian Civil Protection agency; on March 6, Xiaomi Italia donated tens of thousands of FFP3 face masks to the Italian government to help address a critical shortage of such materials in the country.

意大利目前是中国外受疫情影响最大的国家，收到众多中国和欧洲公司捐赠的设备和款项： 3月16日，华为意大利宣布向米兰捐赠20万个 FFP2口罩，其此前已向米兰一些医院提供了1000套防护服。3月11日，意大利足球俱乐部国际米兰和东家苏宁国际向意大利民防局捐赠了30万个医用口罩和其他医疗用品。 3月6日，小米意大利向意大利政府捐赠数万只FFP3口罩，以帮助解决意大利化解医疗用品严重短缺难题。

On the ground, to name a few, Milan-based fashion giant Giorgio Armani announced to donate 1.25 million euros; Italian fitness equipment manufacturer Technogym announced 1 million euros, for Italy to combat Covid-19.

在意大利本国，总部位于米兰的时尚巨头乔治·阿玛尼宣布捐款125万欧元，意大利健身器材制造商泰诺健宣布捐款100万欧元，用来帮助意大利对抗新冠病毒疫情。仅举几例，还有更多。

Photo: @Technogym 照片来源：泰诺健公司

Apart from donations, companies are creatively finding new solutions to help combat the pandemic. Chinese electric car maker BYD swiftly developed its production line and now reportedly becomes the world’s biggest mask manufacturer, which can make up to 5 million masks and 300,000 bottles of disinfectant per day.

除了捐助，中欧公司也正在富有创造性地寻找新解决方案来助力欧洲抗“疫”。 中国电动汽车制造商比亚迪迅速发展了生产线，据媒体报道现在已是全球最大口罩制造商，每天最高能生产500万个口罩和30万瓶消毒剂。

Photo: @BYD 照片来源：比亚迪公司

In France, the world’s biggest luxury goods group LVMH announced plans to use its perfume production facilities to make sanitizers and distribute them free of charge to French hospitals.

在法国，世界奢侈品巨头路威酩轩集团（LVMH）宣布，旗下香水厂将开始转产洗手液，免费供应卫生部门。

Photo: @LVMH 照片来源：路威酩轩集团

Many European factories, including Span’s Inditex, the world’s biggest fashion retailer, and Sweden’s H&M, are seeking to convert part of their production lines to respond to current urgent needs of medical suppliers, the European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said during an online discussion co-organized by the think tank Bruegel and the Financial Times on March 19. Several companies worldwide have been pouring millions of dollars into the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, created to support the World Health Organization in preventing, detecting, and managing the pandemic.

3月19日，欧盟委员会主管内部市场的委员蒂埃里·布雷东在布鲁盖尔智库和《金融时报》共同举行的在线讨论会上说，许多欧洲工厂包括全球最大时装零售商西班牙的Inditex集团和瑞典的H＆M集团，都在试图转换部分生产线以缓解当前医疗用品紧张局势。全球范围内已有数家公司向2019冠状病毒病团结应对基金注入百万巨资，该基金旨在支持世界卫生组织预防、检测和应对此次全球性大流行病。

In the digital domain, telecom companies, SMEs, and start-ups are supporting innovative digital initiatives in droves, either for better smoothing of the internet or to provide pro bono services, thus facilitating the transformation of work and life habits of millions of individuals forced at home. For instance, in Italy, several telecoms and smart work suppliers responded to the Italian government’s call for “digital solidarity”, giving out free services to promote smart working, e-learning or digital entertainment.

在数字领域，电信公司、中小型企业和创业公司纷纷支持一些创新的数字倡议以便互联网顺畅运营或者提供公益服务来帮助数百万受困在家的人转变工作生活习惯。比如，在意大利，多家电信公司和智能工作提供商响应意大利政府的“数字团结”号召，提供免费服务来发展智能工作、在线学习或线上娱乐。

As the fight against Covid-19 is global, unity and solidarity stay central to beat the virus. Europe set up efforts to support China’s battle against Covid-19 back in January and February, but now becomes the new epicenter of the pandemic itself. What Chinese and European companies have been doing is sending a strong sense of solidarity to the world.

我们与新冠病毒的斗争是全球性的斗争，而战胜该病毒的核心就是团结互助。之前在1月份和2月份中国抗击病毒时，欧洲努力支持了中国，现在欧洲自己变成全球大流行病的中心，而此时中欧公司采取的行动正在向世界发出强劲的团结之音。

The efforts from the private sector also echoed the call for reciprocal support made by both public sectors. China has not forgotten the EU’s and several member states’ earlier help in containing the crisis and is now responding in kind, as recently pointed out by European Commission President von der Leyen.

这些公司所付出的努力也是对中欧官方呼吁相互支持的一种回应。正如欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩近日指出，此前中国遏制危机时，欧盟和多个成员国伸出了援手，中国没有忘记这些，如今正投桃报李。

Photo: snapshot of Ursula von der Leyen’s tweet

照片来源：乌尔苏拉· 冯德莱恩的推特贴文截图

“We are waves from the same sea, leaves from the same tree, flowers from the same garden”. As reads the quote on the shipment crates of Xiaomi’s donations, friendship and cooperation are among the ultimate silver-bullet solutions to the human beings’ common enemy, and those great efforts from Chinese and European companies deserve tremendous respect at the time of the global crisis. United we stand, we hope that more private companies will donate funds, surgical masks, ventilators, protective suits, and other desperately-needed medical supplies to support the fight and save lives. Let us work together to get through the hardship, overcome the worst, and build the path towards the final containment of the emergency and recovery of normal economic activities.

“我们是同海之浪、同树之叶、同园之花 。”正如小米公司在捐赠物资装运箱引用的名言所示，友谊和互助是战胜人类共同敌人的终极武器之一。面对此次全球危机，中欧公司的巨大努力值得我们尊重。我们要团结一致，我们希望更多企业雪中送炭，捐助资金或者捐赠口罩、呼吸机、防护服和其他紧急医疗物资来支持抗击疫情、挽救生命！让我们共克时坚、一起为最终遏制疫情、全球经济复苏添砖加瓦！

Photo: @Xiaomi 照片来源：小米公司