China announced on Aug 7 that it would provide humanitarian aid worth 30 million yuan ($4.86 million) to the four Ebola-hit countries in West Africa to help contain the epidemic, which the World Health Organization says has become an international public health emergency.

Although the chances of the deadly virus entering China remain slim, the authorities cannot afford to let their guards down because it could still sneak into the country given the extensive exchanges between China and Africa and the latent period of 2 to 20 days before its symptoms become apparent. In theory, a newly infected person may not show any symptoms while entering China and could spread the virus to others by the time he/she is identified as a victim of the disease.

There is need, therefore, for the Chinese government to establish a preemptive response mechanism by, for instance, helping the Ebola-hit countries to contain the virus. This is exactly what the Chinese government has done by offering aid to the four West African countries. The fact that the four affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) are among the poorest in the world has made their fight against the virus even more difficult.