GAZA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government donated 700 tons of rice to the population of the Palestinian Gaza Strip Wednesday. Chen Xingzhong, director of the Chinese Office in Palestine (Ambassador-Level) supervised the delivery.
The delivery was made through the Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the Gaza Strip. About 300 locals attended the ceremony and received the aid.
During the ceremony, Chen said that Palestinian-Chinese ties are historic. "We provided aid and support in several different situations in the past and presently. Bilateral relations between our countries were promoted to a new level following President Abbas's visit to China in 2013," he said.
He went on to say that following the last war on Gaza, the Chinese government decided to send aid to the Gazan population. "This is to express our respect to the Palestinian people and we hope this support contributes to the ease of their suffering," he continued.
Chen told Xinhua in an interview that China's help to Palestine will continue against all odds, adding "China offered all required aid and support to the Palestinians, not only in development, but also in training, to improve the chances for the establishment of a Palestinian state."
Younis al-Khatib, director of the Gaza Red Crescent Society said that Palestinians are grateful to China for the donation.
He said that the Chinese government and people "have always supported the Palestinian people, backing their legitimate rights."
Meanwhile, families who received the Chinese food supplies expressed deep gratitude to the Chinese donators. Gazan citizen Fatima told Xinhua that she wants to thank China, its people and government for supporting the Palestinian people.