Coronavirus Crisis; China Advises Indonesia to Not Overreact
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4 February 2020 15:59 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xiao Qian advises Indonesia to not overreact to the novel coronavirus crisis that emerged from the Wuhan province. This comes after the Indonesian government’s policy to suspend flights and certain imported goods from China.
“I just saw the news of the Indonesian government plans to stop imports to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country. We will pay attention to that action. There is no evidence to date suggesting the coronavirus can be transmitted from objects,” said Xiao Qian in today’s press conference.
As widely reported, the Indonesian government will temporarily suspend commercial flights from and to China as of Wednesday. Certain imported goods from China have also been temporarily curbed.
China’s protest against Indonesia’s policy comes after a previous protest on the United States’ decision to issue a travel ban and blames the western country for sparking a chain reaction by other countries that have taken a similar stand to the U.S.
Ambassador Xiao Qian argues that Indonesia’s decision can potentially cause a negative effect on the country’s bilateral trade in the future. He also deems it unfortunate especially after the Chinese government and Indonesia have maintained a good relationship and is wary that it could be hampered by irrational decisions and overreaction.
He also warns that Indonesia could face economic losses due to the travel ban and import curb. Xiao Qian calls for the Indonesian government to act rationally and assures that the Chinese government will be able to contain and put an end to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The latest update about the Wuhan virus outbreak suggests that there are 20,624 patients infected by the disease with a death toll of 427, who mostly are citizens of China.
ISTMAN MP