China to offer emergency humanitarian aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq

China has decided to offer emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq in the hope of easing the humanitarian plight faced by local people, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday.

He was responding to a media inquiry regarding China's consideration of providing humanitarian assistance to countries affected by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

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China to offer emergency humanitarian aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq

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China to offer emergency humanitarian aid to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq

"China has always been committed to the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, upholding the spirit of internationalism and humanitarianism. The ongoing conflict has inflicted excruciating humanitarian disasters on people of Iran and other regional countries. China expresses its sympathy and extends condolences to the people of the relevant countries," said Lin.

"China has decided to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, in the hope of easing the humanitarian plight faced by local people. China will continue to do its best to promote peace and ceasefire, facilitate the early restoration of regional peace and stability, and prevent the humanitarian crisis from spreading," he continued.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.17 percent to 97.900 at 1900 GMT.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1778 dollars from 1.1751 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound was up to 1.3622 dollars from 1.3583 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 156.71 Japanese yen, higher than 156.67 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.7766 Swiss francs from 0.7788 Swiss francs, and it climbed to 1.3681 Canadian dollars from 1.3635 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar lost to 9.2323 Swedish kronor from 9.2432 Swedish kronor.