On March 16, the flight carrying anti-epidemic medical supplies donated by COSCO SHIPPING to the Liguria Region of Italy left for Italy from Shanghai Pudong International Airport. These medical supplies include 50,000 face masks and 200 medical protective suits, with a total value of 450,000 yuan.
After the outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe, Italy faces a shortage of medical supplies and equipment. COSCO SHIPPING acted immediately in an effort to find some face masks and protective suits to support Italy’s battle against the epidemic. On the afternoon of March 13, these medical supplies were delivered to Shanghai Pudong International Airport from the COSCO SHIPPING headquarters.
A shipment departure ceremony was held at the COSCO SHIPPING headquarters. Mr. Sun Jiakang, Director of the Board of COSCO SHIPPING and a Council member of the Business Forum Italy-China (BFIC) attended the ceremony and declared departure of the shipment.
To ensure the smooth handling of the shipment, COSCO SHIPIPNG Air Freight contacted several airlines and chose the earliest and fastest available one from the limited number of flights. Personnel were organized on the weekend to complete customs declaration, delivery, safety inspection and palletizing.
Join Hands to Fight against the Epidemic
On the packaging boxes of these medical supplies, there are two ancient Roman quotations in Latin, Italian, Chinese and English, including “Through adversity to the stars” and “Hope is the pillar that holds up the world.”
“Per aspera ad astra” means “Through adversity to the stars”. “La speranza è il pilastro che sorregge il mondo”, which means “Hope is the pillar that holds up the world” , is a quote from Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23-79), an author and naval commander of ancient Rome.
To quote a line from the ancient Chinese classic poem collection, the Book of Songs, “You give a peach to me, I return you a piece of jade for appreciation”. When China was at the worst period of the epidemic, many overseas partners of COSCO SHIPPING supported us in various ways. For instance, FRATELLI COSULICH, our Italian partner, made donations through COSCO SHIPPING Charity Foundation to help us fight against the epidemic. It was their love that supported COSCO SHIPPING to get through the hard time. Now it is our turn to do our best to help other countries to tide over the crisis.
