Pakistan receives two automatic mask production lines courtesy Chinese firm

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has received two automatic, intelligent mask production lines courtesy a Chinese firm wishing to help Pakistan build its mask industry, APP reported on Saturday.

Xuzhou Xunyike System Technology, a leading high-tech enterprise providing integrated solutions for intelligent manufacturing, has donated the two production lines.

Each machine has a capacity to produce 100,000 masks per day, Xunyike General Manager Qin Ping said in an interview.

The production line donated to Pakistan, through Pakistan Embassy in Beijing, can ensure fully automatic production.

It can also ensure remote data collection, debugging and maintenance services by giving operating instructions in Suzhou.

“There is no mask industry in Pakistan, so we are donating the production lines to help Pakistan build the mask industry,” he told Economic Daily-China Economic Net.

Qin Ping said the complete mask production line involves a lot of things. In addition to the mask machine itself, there are also packaging systems and other auxiliary equipment.

“We initially considered donating a complete, fully automatic (mask production line), but considering that Pakistan itself does not have a mask industry, we later handed over relatively easy-to-operate semi-automatic equipment, at least to ensure that export masks can be produced immediately,” he added.

In March this year, Xunyi Branch donated two fully automatic intelligent mask production lines to Pakistan.

Qin Ping said the fully automatic mask production line has relatively high skill requirements for workers, and the equipment has to be assembled after it is disassembled and shipped. The process is "very complicated", he said.

“The semi-automatic production line only needs more labour. Although the production capacity is not as high as that of the fully automatic variant, but if the workers can be trained in operations, the two production lines should produce 100,000 masks per day.”

Liu Huaqu, the technical supervisor, said that the company developed its mask producing machine in the first 15 days after the outbreak of COVID-19.

Separately, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) also received a donation from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), in which 40 ventilators were included.

The consignment included 50,000 N-95 masks, 60,000 surgical masks, and 4,000 testing kits.

Pakistan procures equipment

A plane carrying 20 tonnes of medical equipment procured by Pakistan also reached the capital from China, a spokesperson for the NDMA said.

The medical gear had been procured through the National Disaster Risk Management Fund.

The equipment includes 99 ventilators, 260,000 N-95 masks, 300 protective suits, 600 safety goggles, over 7,000 KN-95 masks, and 6,000 surgical masks, the spokesperson said.

Unanimous resolution passed in recognition of China

On May 14, the Senate had unanimously passed a resolution thanking the Chinese people and government for their continuous support during the pandemic.

"Senate of Pakistan rejects the baseless propaganda against China from certain quarters, which stems from geopolitical rivalry and is more an attempt to divert attention from their own internal failings as it has no factual basis," read the resolution.

China has sent several consignments to Pakistan in a bid to help the country tackle the pandemic. Last month, it had sent a cargo of medical emergency relief items.

The medical supplies included PCR testing kits, surgical masks, protective overall suits, N95 masks, and ventilators.