Jack Ma, Alibaba Donate More Masks As High-Profile China Philanthropic Push Continues

The Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation will increase their philanthropy efforts during the global coronavirus crisis by donating medical supplies to 10 more countries in Asia, according to a statement by the two on Saturday.

The governments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will receive 1.8 million masks, 210,000 COVID-19 test kits and 36,000 pieces of protective clothing, as well as ventilators and forehead thermometers.

“Go Asia! We will donate emergency supplies to 10 more countries across Asia,” said Alibaba’s billionaire former chairman Jack Ma through his Twitter account. “Delivering fast is not easy, but we’ll get it done!”  Earlier this week, the two foundations announced donations of medical supplies to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Ma, worth $38.9 billion on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List, stepped down as chairman of China’s e-commerce giant in September to focus on philanthropy.

China businesses and organizations have stepped up their support for other countries at a time when the number of U.S. cases has been rising quickly and the American response to the outbreak is being criticized at home. For its part, China said it found 46 new cases on Saturday, including 45 brought in from overseas.

Among other China donations, eight tons of medical supplies were provided to Greece yesterday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.  In 2016, government-controlled COSCO acquired a majority stake in the Greece’s Piraeus Port and formally took over its management and operation, Xinhua reported earlier.  China President Xi Jinping visited the country last year.  (See related post here.)

Earlier this week, the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation announced the publication of a digital handbook that shares lessons and experience from frontline doctors, medical administrators and staff in fighting the coronavirus in China. The report focuses on the experience of the First Affiliated Hospital at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine; eastern China’s Zhejiang Province is home to Ma and Alibaba. That announcement came after the two foundations said a promised donation of one million face masks and 500,000 test kits for the U.S. was on the way. “The first shipment of masks and coronavirus test kits to the US is taking off from Shanghai,” Ma wrote on his recently created Twitter page.  (See earlier post here.)

Ma joins China government leaders that of late have been making increasing use of American social media blocked in China to spread international messages, including Twitter.

–Follow me @rflannerychina