China donated 50,000 U.S. dollars to Uruguay on Thursday for the purpose of financing fighting forest fires in the South American country.

Chinese Ambassador Wang Yongzhan said at the donation ceremony held in the Foreign Ministry that China is a friend of Uruguay and tries to help where it can.

"While 50,000 dollars is not a big sum of money, it shows the friendship between the Chinese people and government and their Uruguayan counterparts," Wang said.

Deputy Secretary General of Uruguay's presidential office Jorge Vasquez said "the Chinese donation forms an important part of the National Emergency System, which has been in development since the left-wing coalition took power on March 1 last year."

Vazquez said many industries depended on forest resources for production.

He called on the public, as well as the private sectors, to join the battle against natural disasters.

Source: Xinhua