CARACAS, July 7 — The first batch of emergency humanitarian relief supplies provided by the Chinese government to Venezuela arrived Monday at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, near the Venezuelan capital Caracas.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil and Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Lan Hu received the supplies at the airport.
Gil thanked the Chinese government and its leaders on behalf of the Venezuelan people for providing the relief supplies, saying China had maintained close communication with the Venezuelan government since the earthquakes struck.
The supplies, including tents and generators, are of great significance to people who lost their homes in the disaster, Gil said, adding that they demonstrate the enduring all-weather strategic partnership between the two countries.
Gil said the Chinese community and Chinese-funded enterprises in Venezuela had actively extended a helping hand after the disaster, joining rescue efforts and helping displaced residents from the very beginning.
Many of those scenes were deeply moving, he said, adding that the Venezuelan people had seen the support and that the two peoples, living on the same land, had developed a deep friendship.
On the night of June 24, Venezuela was hit by its strongest earthquakes in more than a century, with two powerful quakes above magnitude 7 striking within one minute. The quakes have so far killed 3,342 people and injured 16,740.
