Chinese humanitarian aid arrives in Libyan capital

A batch of emergency humanitarian relief materials provided by the Chinese government landed in Tripoli Tuesday, the first batch of Chinese aid to the Libyan capital since the outbreak of the domestic turmoil in the North African nation. The aid materials, weighing about 43 tonnes and including rice, edible oil and medicines, arrived at the Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli at about 2:30 p.m. local time (1230 GMT). Wang Xuhong, temporary Charge d'Affaires of the Chinese embassy in Libya, told Xinhua that this is the first part of a total of 20 million RMB (about 3.2 million U.S. dollars) Chinese aids to Tripoli, while the second and third batches will also arrive within the week. China's Red Cross Society has decided to provide a total of aid worth 50 million RMB (about 7.8 million dollars) to Libya. The first batch of aid was sent to Benghazi, the country's second largest city, on Aug. 19. "Since the turmoil, China is very much concerned about the humanitarian sufferings of the Libyan people," Wang said, adding that similar aids will continue in the future. According to officials from the Libyan Red Crescent, China has sent several times humanitarian aids to the Libyan people who are experiencing hard times, which is reflection of the Chinese government and people's concern over Libya.