China announces 18 million yuan additional aid to Haiti

BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Sunday that China would provide medical supplies worth 18 million yuan (2.64 million U.S. dollars) in additional aid to quake-ravaged Haiti.

A 40-membe Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team would depart for Haiti from Beijing Capital International Airport Sunday afternoon with the medical supplies on board, the MOC said in a statement posted on its website.

The 20-tonne medical supplies would include medicines, hygiene equipment, medical devices and camping equipment, said the ministry.

Also onboard the plane would be four Chinese peace-keeping police officers, replacing the four who were killed in the earthquake. China maintains a 125-member peacekeeping force in Haiti.

The chartered flight was expected to arrive at Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince at 3 p.m. Monday local time, it said.

The MOC statement also said the 40 medical personnel came from China's military medical system and 70 percent of them had participated in previous UN peacekeeping missions.

Many of them had been involved in the massive rescue mission after the deadly 8.0-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008, which left about 87,000 people dead or missing, it said.

According to the MOC, with the 18 million yuan of additional aid, China has so far provided humanitarian aid worth 48 million yuan in materials and other supplies to Haiti, in addition to 3.6 million U.S. dollars in cash to the Caribbean country, after it was hit by a 7.3-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12, which had killed more than 110,000 people so far. Enditem