Xiamen, Fujian province, has actively supported a number of countries in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has received many letters of thanks.

Xiamen has donated to France, the Philippines, Germany, Australia, Brazil, South Korea and the Netherlands, the city government said.

Some of the cities overseas have enjoyed long-standing friendships with Xiamen, such as Nice, France.

After hearing that the mayors of Paris and Nice, had tested positive for the coronavirus, Xiamen immediately sent medical supplies to the city.

From Australia came a letter of thanks from Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson to Zhuang Jiahan, the mayor of Xiamen. "As our international sister city, we very much appreciate the sharing of resources and your experience in dealing with this health crisis, Jamieson wrote.

"We look forward to resuming our respective efforts to engage and support activities between our two cities once this unfortunate situation has passed."