Businesses rally to send supplies to Wuhan

The US private sector is airlifting medical supplies, including 2 million masks, to Wuhan — the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak — to support China’s efforts to combat the epidemic, the US-China Business Council, or USCBC, said on Thursday.

“Recognizing this fundamental need for medical supplies in China, the US-China Business Council along with the National Committee on US-China Relations (NCUSCR) and the George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations coordinated an effort to identify medical masks globally that could be donated to China,” said Jacob Parker, senior USCBC vice-president, at a news conference.

Masks are difficult to acquire because of unprecedented demand, but a reliable supply was identified by the Bush Foundation through its newly established and rapidly growing US-China Coronavirus Action Network, or US-China CAN, and representatives of the business organizations swiftly arranged for purchase and transport, according to a statement from the USCBC.

Parker said the masks were produced at a facility in Mexico and had been shipped to the US before they were scheduled to fly by FedEx to China on Friday, Beijing time.

Most of the donated goods on the flight will be rushed to Wuhan hospitals with support from the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China Charity Federation, Parker said. “I think the coronavirus is not an inflection point for companies to shift their supply chains. It’s just an indication that overreliance on any one market is risky to any globalized business,” he said.

USCBC President Craig Allen said that there had been “no indication of the member companies leaving China at all”. “Rather, many companies are increasing their investments in the country,” he said.

USCBC members have contributed millions of dollars in medical supplies, many of them to hospitals in Wuhan, Allen said. “This is the time to demonstrate our shared humanity and dedication to the common good. We want to help and to honor the courageous healthcare workers throughout China,” he said.

Recalling the NCUSCR’s hosting of the Chinese table tennis team in 1972, NCUSCR President Steve Orlins said: “During this crisis we are gratified to be able to continue this great tradition by helping to provide urgently needed medical supplies to the Chinese people.”

USCBC Chair Evan Greenberg said the US private sector stands with and supports the Chinese people “at this critical moment”.

David Firestein, chief executive officer of the Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, said: “We are honored and deeply gratified to be one of the organizers of this humanitarian action, a powerful gesture of American friendship and goodwill toward China at this challenging moment.”

The USCBC represents about 200 US companies doing business in China, most of which are in the Fortune 500.

We are gratified to be able to continue this great tradition by helping to provide urgently needed medical supplies to the Chinese people.” Steve Orlins, president of the National Committee on US-China Relations