In a press briefing in Hanoi on April 19, Mr Zhuo said that after the earthquake hit China’s Qinghai province on April 14, China received the messages of condolences from Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, which were among the earliest delivered to Chinese leaders.

In addition, Mr Zhuo said, Vietnamese associations and people have shown their support for Chinese people, especially those in the disaster area.

According to the latest statistics from the China Steering Committee for Calamity Prevention, the quake has claimed 1,706 lives, injured over 12,000 people and left 2,256 others missing. The disaster also caused huge losses to people’s properties and houses.