China is closely following the health of its citizens living abroad, Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said at a daily news conference on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry is working with the civil aviation, customs and education sectors to ensure the people's safety, Ma said.

Chinese embassies and consulates are communicating closely with Chinese companies and social organizations in foreign countries, and are providing updates on the epidemic situation and issuing alerts through various channels, such as websites, WeChat accounts and local media, Ma said.

The missions are also closely following Chinese citizens abroad who have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus or suspected of catching the virus to make sure they receive treatment in time, Ma said.

The hotline of consular services, 12308, is working 24 hours a day to receive calls for help, Ma said. He added the ministry and missions have rebuked discriminatory policies against Chinese citizens and asked countries involved to stop such actions.

As for the large number of Chinese people studying overseas, China is contacting universities and schools and requesting them to address issues where Chinese students are not able to enter the countries and start their semesters on time, Ma said.

On Thursday, Ma also emphasized China is paying close attention to the health of foreign citizens living in the country.

Many local governments have included foreigners in their efforts to curb the epidemic and treat them the same as the Chinese citizens, while working to meet reasonable demands by foreigners, Ma said.