China donates mobile hospital to Ecuador

QUITO - China Friday donated a mobile army surgical hospital to the  Ecuadoran armed forces to aid in medical emergencies and rescue operations during natural disasters.

China's Ambassador to Ecuador Wang Shixiong presided over the hand-over, which took place Friday at a military brigade in Ecuador's southern city of Loja, as part of a military-assistance accord signed in May 2012 between the countries' respective ministers of defense.

The unit, a compact mobile hospital equipped for surgery, is fitted with X-ray and ultrasound machines, sterilization gear, pharmaceuticals and more. It is "high-tech and highly mobile" and "can be stationed on a mountain top in the jungle, desert or any other place."

Ambassador Wang said on the occasion that the unit "fulfills all of Ecuador's technical requirements and its donation marks the deep friendship between the two nations and the two armed forces."

The Chinese government and the armed forces "confer vital importance on the development of the friendly ties between the two countries and their military forces," Wang said, noting that "in recent years, Chinese-Ecuadoran military ties have developed rapidly," thanks to constant visits by high-level officials from both countries and the strengthening of cooperation and exchange.