--- title: "Chinese Billionaire Ships 500,000 Coronavirus Testing Kits to US" description: "Chinese billionaire Jack Ma pledged last week to donate half a billion COVID-19 coronavirus testing kits and one million face masks to the US." date: "2020-03-16" modified: "2020-03-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/chinese-billionaire-ships-500000-coronavirus-testing-kits-us" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid-19" - "virus" --- # Chinese Billionaire Ships 500,000 Coronavirus Testing Kits to US ![Chinese billionaire Jack Ma pledged last week to donate half a billion COVID-19 coronavirus testing kits and one million face masks to the US.]() *\Image: Jack Ma via Twitter\* Chinese billionaire Jack Ma pledged last week to donate half a billion COVID-19 testing kits and one million face masks to the US, [*Business Insider* reports](). In [an update]() on Twitter — his first-ever tweet — the Alibaba founder wrote that "the first shipment of masks and coronavirus test kits to the US is taking off from Shanghai. All the best to our friends in America." https://twitter.com/JackMa/status/1239388330405449728 His pledge, however, raises plenty of questions. We don't know where the testing kits are going, who will distribute them, or who will end up using them. But if there's one thing that's for certain, it's that the US is [far behind]() in terms of per capita testing when compared to the most of the developed world. "Drawing from my own country's experience, speedy and accurate testing and adequate personal protective equipment for medical professionals are most effective in preventing the spread of the virus," read [a statement]() posted to Twitter by the Jack Ma Foundation. According to the statement, Ma's foundation also donated materials to other afflicted areas in Japan, Korea, Italy, Iran, and Spain. In January, Ma also [donated]() $14.5 million towards a coronavirus vaccine. "At this moment, we can't beat this virus unless we eliminate boundaries to resources and share our know-how and hard-earned lessons," Ma wrote in the statement. "United we stand, divided fall!" ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()