Group photo of the team of Chinese medical experts sent by Hunan province to Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea to help fight COVID-19. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The team of Chinese medical experts sent by Hunan province to Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea to help fight COVID-19 has returned home after having worked in the African nations for more than a month.

The team landed at Huanghua International Airport in Changsha, Hunan province, at 10:45 am on Monday and were warmly welcomed by senior provincial officials and local residents.

Before flying home, they had been quarantined in Sanya, Hainan province, for two weeks.

Zhu Yimin, director of the team, said they were not just medical personnel but also friendly envoys of China.

"We were not only participants in the international anti-pandemic campaign but also practitioners and guardians of building a community with a shared future for human health," Zhu said at the welcoming ceremony at the airport.

"What we spread was not just Chinese therapeutic methods and professional technologies but also the great love and national confidence of China," he said.

Wu Guiying, Hunan's deputy governor, extended her highest regards to the team for its hard work in African nations over the past month.

She said the Chinese team had helped carry out international cooperation with Zimbabwe and Equatorial Guinea, helped to further deepen the Sino-Zimbabwe and Sino-Equatorial Guinea comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership and further consolidated the friendship between the three nations.

For a month, the team visited local medical facilities; examined patients; discussed and exchanged views on the fight against the pandemic with local health officials, experts and medical staff; and put forward their plans to help prevent and control the pandemic.

They won the respect and appreciation of the local government and residents through their work ethic.

They had been received by the president of Zimbabwe and the prime minister of Equatorial Guinea for their excellent work.