Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top government leaders in China have called on the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) to institute reforms that will make the organization more efficient and effective in providing services.

President Xi, who graced the 10th general congress of the RCSC in Beijing, hailed the Red Cross in China and underscored the organization's value, especially in the humanitarian field.

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The RCSC, he added, had been playing an important role in disaster rescue and relief since its establishment in 1904. The Chinese president then urged all government agencies to provide more support to the RCSC as it embarks on a new chapter.

Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who was also present during the congress, called on RCSC to deepen its reform in order to be more transparent and efficient in order to further enhance its credibility.

Liu said the RCSC should focus its efforts on areas that are impoverished and groups that are badly in need.

Aside from President Xi and Liu, top Communist Party of China officials and state leaders, including Premier Li Keqiang, attended the RCSC congress at the Greall Hall of the People in the Chinese capital.

During the event, 10 individuals and 32 groups were given awards for their outstanding performance at the RCSC.

The RCSC was among the first humanitarian groups to have brought relief materials to the earthquake-devastated Nepal.

The RCSC also sent its rescue team to join the humanitarian operation in the Himalayan nation.

The team includes 10 medical professionals from the General Hospital of the Armed Police in China and other medical volunteers.

The RCSC said the team is bringing medicine and medical tools worth over USD800,000 and will operate a large mobile hospital in Nepal when the team arrives in the country.

Among the medicines that the team has brought are those for diarrhea and other common disaster diseases as Nepal now tries to contain a possible outbreak of illnesses following the devastating earthquake. At least 7,500 people have died in the said earthquake.

The RCSC was founded on March 10, 1904 as the Shanghai International Red Cross Committee.

The founders of the organizations were a group of Chinese business and political leaders, led by Shen Dunhe, a tea merchant from Shanghai.

TagsChina Red Cross, Red Cross Society of China