During the virus outbreak, I have decided to stay here in the beautiful city of Guangzhou, which welcomed me 13 years ago, said Mattia Romeo, an Italian expat, in an emotional video clip he produced to show support for China amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Romeo, born and raised in Milan, has been living in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou for 13 years. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he is a regular on Chinese TV shows and a host for a great many cultural exchange activities.

He has spent the past 20 days in self-imposed quarantine, receiving a vast number of heart-warming messages from his Chinese friends and followers on social media platforms, asking his whereabouts. “They really show an interest. That’s very, very touching,” he said.

Romeo was particularly moved by a young deliveryman who insisted on gifting him face masks while bringing him a delivery of coffee powder. “This is a kind of love that goes beyond countries,” he said in admiration.

The Italian expat has also been impressed with the Chinese government’s efforts to try and contain the epidemic, citing the example of putting cities in Hubei province under quarantine, building a brand new hospital in Wuhan in just 10 days, and how Guangzhou is responding efficiently to the government’s directives.

“Every day I get text messages from the disease control center, reminding me what to do and what not to do,” he added.

Romeo believes China is making huge sacrifices to contain the spread of the epidemic around the world, and the international community should be grateful to China for that.