A face mask handover ceremony was held in Wellington, New Zealand on July 31, during which Andy Foster, mayor of the capital city, received 50,000 surgical face masks donated by Xiamen in East China's Fujian province.

Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand Wu Xi, a number of local government officials, and reporters attended the ceremony in person, while officials of the Xiamen foreign affairs office and representatives from organizations with close ties with Wellington attended through video.

The mayor thanked Xiamen for its support in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He said Wellington attaches great importance to its 33-year friendship with Xiamen and he has been looking forward to resuming communications with the southeastern Chinese city after the health crisis comes to an end.

According to Foster, the masks will be used by essential service teams throughout the city.

Xiamen and Wellington established a sister city relationship in 1987 and have since maintained close ties in trade, culture, medicine, education, and sports.