Clare Fearnley, New Zealand ambassador to China, recorded a video message on Tuesday, expressing support to the Chinese people in the fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking in fluent Mandarin in the video, Fearnley says that New Zealand stands with China in facing and overcoming difficulties brought by the outbreak. She also uses a Māori phrase "Kia kaha" (meaning "stay strong") to show her support for the Chinese people.
At the end of the video, the ambassador writes "中国加油" (Stay strong, China) in traditional Chinese characters with a calligraphy brush, giving her best wishes and support for people in China.
In a letter she wrote to China on Feb. 6, Fearnley expressed her solidarity with those struggling in the midst of the outbreak and praised China's efforts to combat the epidemic.
Over the past decades, New Zealand and China have strengthened their relationship in various fields and made people-to-people exchange a priority. China is the largest trade partner of New Zealand, and more and more Chinese students are choosing New Zealand as the study destination, she wrote in the letter.
"We will face the difficulties together and eventually we will overcome the crisis together," she said.
