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President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic awards medals to the 19th Chinese medical team on Dec 19. [Photo/WeChat account: jxfabu]

President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic awarded medals to the 19th Chinese medical team on Dec 19. The team is now leaving after completing their mission. Officials from both countries, Chinese diplomats, and representatives of Chinese institutions and overseas Chinese attended the ceremony.

President Touadera praised the team for their work and thanked them for their contributions to the health and friendship of the two countries. He also said he admired the spirit of the Chinese medical team: "Fearless in the face of hardships, dedicated, determined to save the dead and heal the wounded, and demonstrating love without borders".

Pierre Somse, health minister of the Central African Republic, thanked China for its long-term support for health in the Central African Republic. He stressed that the Chinese medical team helped locals with care and respect, and that China is the most trustworthy friend and partner of the Central African people.

Ambassador Li Qinfeng said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the initial dispatch of Chinese medical teams to foreign countries. He said that the medical team improved the health and well-being of the Central African people and contributed to health cooperation between the two countries. He added that China hopes to work with the Central African side to further implement the consensus of the two heads of state and build a closer community of shared destiny.

Since 1978, China has sent 19 batches of medical teams to the Central African Republic, and a total of 278 Chinese medical staff have treated diseases and saved lives in the country.

The 19th Chinese medical team, dispatched by Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, to the Central African Republic, consists of 11 members from departments such as internal medicine, surgery, ophthalmology and obstetrics and gynecology. They arrived in the Central African Republic in June 2022 and will return to China at the end of December this year.