Beijing: Foreign Minister Wang Yi would be the first Chinese dignitary to travel abroad this week since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in China to attend the Munich Security Conference, where he would highlight China's efforts to contain the deadly disease.
The Munich Security Conference (MSC) is scheduled to be held in the German city of Munich from February 14-16. It is an important international forum on diplomatic and strategic security.
Wang will deliver a keynote speech on global tensions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told an online media briefing here on Wednesday.
Geng said that Wang will also talk about the Chinese government and people's concerted efforts and progress in fighting against the virus, and about advancing international cooperation.
We believe we will get a deeper understanding and broader support from the international community, he said.
This will be the first time a Chinese dignitary will travel out of the country ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus in early December that has brought the country to a standstill.
The death toll in China's novel coronavirus outbreak has gone up to 1,113 with 97 new fatalities reported mostly in the worst-affected Hubei province while the confirmed cases of infection jumped to 44,653, health officials said on Wednesday.
The virus was officially named "COVID-19" by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday.
After naming the virus as "COVID-19", WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "We had to find a name that did not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people, and which is also pronounceable and related to the disease".
The CO stands for corona, the VI for virus and the D for disease, Ghebreyesus said in Geneva.
Several countries have banned arrivals from China while major airlines have suspended flights to the country.
LIVE TV
