Hong Kong-based foundation hopes to win goodwill for China along the ‘medical silk road’
- The GX Foundation recently provided Laos with supplies to fight Covid-19 and aims to do the same for Cambodia
- The organisation was set up by former chief executive Leung Chun-ying and business leaders to provide aid to countries that joined the Belt and Road Initiative
A humanitarian agency set up by the former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying and business leaders is seeking to provide medical aid and win goodwill for China in countries that have signed up to the Belt and Road Initiative.
The GX Foundation, founded in 2019, is designed to mobilise resources from the public and private sectors in Hong Kong and the mainland. Although its initial focus was on treating cataract patients in four countries in Southeast Asia and Africa, it has recently been providing vital supplies to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak.
Its name comes from the abbreviation of the Chinese phrase “Gongxiang” which means “sharing”, an idea China has used to promote the Belt and Road Initiative to developing countries.
Beijing has been building infrastructure and expanding business ties with these countries but is also hoping to expand its soft power by building a “Chinese health silk road’’ to provide medical supplies.
Emily Chan Ying-yang, the foundation’s chief executive, said the organisation embraced this vision and its work complemented that of government agencies such as the Red Cross Society of China.
