2013年8月16日中国援外医疗队派遣50周年，习近平总书记向曾经参加和正在国外执行任务的援外医疗队全体同志致以诚挚的慰问，“大家远离祖国和亲人，克服了种种困难，以实际行动铸就‘不畏艰苦、甘于奉献、救死扶伤、大爱无疆’的中国医疗队精神，展示了中国人民热爱和平、珍视生命的良好形象。”
On August 16, 2013, the 50th anniversary of the dispatch of China's international medical aid team, General Secretary Xi Jinping extended his sincere condolences to all comrades of international medical aid team who had participated in and were performing missions abroad. He said "leaving motherland and families and overcoming all kinds of difficulties, you have formed the spirit of Chinese medical team featuring no fear of hardships, willingness to dedicate, saving lives and great love with practical actions,presenting a positive image of the Chinese people who love peace and value lives".
有这么一支医疗队，甘忍远离亲人之苦、甘冒殒命之险，跨海越洋，在1963年至今的57年中，从第一批的24位累计到今天的2.6万人次，先后远赴亚、非、拉、欧和大洋洲的71个国家，不畏艰苦、甘于奉献，其中约2000人次获得受援国政府颁发的总统勋章等各种国家级荣誉，这就是获得世界广泛赞誉的中国援外医疗队。这项事业坚持了57年，留下了一支“不走的医疗队”。
There is such a medical team, the members of which volunteer to leave families and risk their lives to cross oceans. In 57 years since 1963, this medical team, with 24 members in the first batch to 26,000 person-times today, went to 71 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Oceania. They are not afraid of hardships and willing to dedicate. About 2,000 of them won variousstate-level honors such as the Presidential Medal issued by the recipient countries. This is the Chinese foreign medical aid team which has won worldwide praise. This causehas been lasting for 57 years, creating a "never leaving medical team".
授人以鱼不如授人以渔。中国援外医疗队带给受援国的不是一年又一年的外部援助，而是帮助他们实现一代又一代的医疗技术自立，以精湛的医术和高尚的医德，全心全意为受援国人民服务，促进受援国医疗卫生事业发展和人民健康水平提高。
It's better to teach a man fishing than to give him fish. It is not the external assistance that the Chinese medical aid teams bring to recipient countriesyear after year, but to help them achieve medical technology independence from generation to generation. With superb medical skills and noble medical ethics, the team members wholeheartedly serve the people of the recipient countries, and promote the development of medical and health services and the improvement of people's health in the recipient countries.
医疗对外援助，是我国和发展中国家之间开展时间最长、涉及国家最多、成效最为显著的合作项目。中国援外医疗队甘于奉献，增进了我国与广大发展中国家民心相通、民意相融，在构建人类命运共同体的过程中，传承着“大爱无疆”的人文情怀。
Foreignmedical aid is the longest-running cooperation project between China and developing countries that involves the most countries and achieve most notable results. The dedicated members of Chinese international medical aid teams have boosted people-to-people amity between China and developing countries and inherited the humanistic feelings of great lovein the process of building a community with a shared future for mankind.