IRNA � Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi praised Iran's Mohammad-Javad Zarif for being the first foreign minister to sympathize with the Chinese after the spread of the coronavirus.

"You are the first foreign minister who sent sympathies to the Chinese people since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which fully reflects the profound friendship between the people of the two countries, who support each other and tackle difficulties in a cooperative manner," said Wang, according to XinHua.

Stressing that China is full of confidence in scoring a full victory in the fight against the epidemic at an early date, Wang added that both China and Iran are ancient civilizations with a history of thousands of years, whose forward steps cannot be stopped by any kind of difficulties.

The Chinese minister mader the remarks during the meeting with his Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC).

Zarif, too, said the solidarity of the Chinese people has also impressed the world.

On behalf of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, Zarif conveyed once again sympathies and respect to President Xi and the Chinese people, saying that the Iranian government and people will continue to provide China with all necessary support and assistance

Zarif lauded Chinese President Xi Jinping's outstanding leadership in the fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic.