The Chinese medical team in South Sudan on Friday launched a Medical Chinese Language Course at the Juba Teaching Hospital to help ease communication between the South Sudanese medical staff and their Chinese counterparts.

According to Li Jinkuan, the Chinese Medical Team in South Sudan's head of communication, the training is meant to bring together China and South Sudan in areas of medical cooperation and opportunities.

"Studying medical Chinese language is instrumental because it will also create more working opportunities for South Sudanese people in the future in China. For African people or the South Sudanese, this is a good opportunity not just for study but for working opportunities and ease of communication with the Chinese people," Li said.

Pawil Arop Yor, acting director-general for Juba Teaching Hospital, encouraged South Sudanese medical teams to enroll in the training.

"I would like to thank the government of China for helping our hospital and providing free medicines and equipment to the hospital. Now they are teaching us the Chinese language. So we are very happy and grateful to them. I am calling my colleagues who are working here at Juba Teaching Hospital to register for the Chinese Language training class," Yor said.

With the help of the Chinese government, the Juba Teaching Hospital has now been upgraded into a modern hospital with several new departments, including those for neurology, cervical cancer, and fistula.

The Chinese medical team began going into South Sudan in different batches beginning in 2013 to help establish technical medical departments at the Juba Teaching Hospital and to improve medical services in the country.

In March this year, China and South Sudan signed a development pact for the expansion and modernization of the Juba Teaching Hospital to offer medical services in the East African country. Hua Ning, the Chinese ambassador to South Sudan, said the Phase II project is more comprehensive than the completed Phase 1, with multi-functional facilities, including an infectious disease division and several ICUs.