With a dramatic surge in the number of coronavirus cases, huge multi-national companies that have business in both China and the U.S. are making great efforts to help authorities fight back against the outbreak.
In the U.S., Bill Gates' Gates Foundation announced on Wednesday that it would commit $100 million to aid global detection, isolation and treatment of the virus, a large jump from its earlier pledge of $10 million last week.
Other firms, including Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Dell (NYSE: DELL), L'Oreal (OTC: LRLCY) and Cargill, have all collectively donated roughly $1.4 million (10 million yuan) to the Chinese Red Cross and authorities in Hubei province battling the epidemic.
Earlier this week, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Tim Cook commented on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) that the iPhone maker would also contribute to efforts on containing the deadly virus.
In terms of financial support, Chinese internet giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) has been leading the ranks of donors with the establishment of a RMB 1.1 billion ($160 million) fund for medical supplies.
In addition, Alibaba's founder Jack Ma, the second-richest person in China, reportedly pledged $14 million (100 million yuan) of efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine through his Jack Ma Foundation.
Tencent (OTC: TCEHY) and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) follow with commitments of RMB 300 million ($43.2 million) each, while Bytedance, delivery service Meituan and the real estate-focused Evergrande Group are each contributing RMB 200 million ($29 million). Bytedance also offered RMB 100,000 ($14,400) to any healthcare workers who are infected on the job, and up to RMB 1 million ($144,000) to those who make "outstanding contributions or efforts" in fighting the coronavirus.
Platforms such as Alibaba, Sina Weibo and Kuaishou have also created fundraising campaigns for users to donate to Wuhan, and eleven other companies have pledged at least RMB 100 million ($14.4 million) a piece.
In total, over 30+ information technology and new economy companies in China have together donated more than 3 billion yuan (US$432.5 million) to the fight against coronavirus.