Universities in East China's Shandong province will be partnered with universities in the United Kingdom to provide online assistance and consulting services for Chinese students in the UK during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Around 200 experienced medical and psychological experts selected from 42 universities in Shandong will form about 100 support groups that will be assigned to more than 150 British universities. They will remotely offer health advice, both physical and psycological, to Chinese students studying in the UK.

Another 60 experts from seven medical colleges in Shandong will take turns to provide 2-hour online consulting advice to the overseas students every day, from 12 noon to 2 pm, UK time. The experts will share knowledge about COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment, as well as offer emergency psychological counseling, and their work will continue until the epidemic ends in the UK.

The initiative, titled "Hand in Hand, Heart to Heart", was jointly organized by the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, the People's Government of Shandong Province, and China's embassy in the United Kingdom.

On Tuesday, Yu Jie, the vice-governor of Shandong province, said during an online launch ceremony, that China always cares about the health and wellbeing of overseas Chinese nationals, including overseas Chinese students.

The program is the new complementing effort tailored for Chinese citizens abroad to help them with the prevention of the disease, to "protect everyone's life and health", Yu said, referring to aid from Shandong province that was sent to the UK on March 28 in the form of 15 experts and doctors and 48 metric tons of medical supplies, including 10 ventilators.

That team of specialists in disease control included experts in traditional Chinese and Western medicine, psychology, nursing, and other fields. Members conducted epidemiological investigations and epidemic prevention education, and participated in disease prevention and treatment work during the visit.

Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK, said the new program was "creative" and "heart-warming".

"The health and safety of the vast number of students studying in the UK are closely related to the future of China and the future of Sino-British relations," he said.

The program will not only help Chinese students in the UK to overcome difficulties, but will also "deepen the friendship between two peoples in China and the UK", and promote the development of the China-UK "golden era", he said.