File photo shows children play beside a tap in Kenema, east of Sierra Leone, Aug. 18, 2014. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)

FREETOWN, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has together with the government of Sierra Leone launched a maternity and child healthcare project in Sierra Leone.

The ceremony that took place over the weekend at the Linley Beach was organized by the Hunan Children's Hospital in cental China's Hunan Province.

In his address, the Chinese ambassador to Sierra Leone Wu Peng said the Hunan doctors and nurses would provide "free consultation and training of the local staff in the hospital".

Sierra Leone's Minister of Health Abu Bakarr Fofanah underscored the the relationship between China and Sierra Leone, which he said is based on "mutual trust and respect for the cultures and traditions of each country."

He spoke of the enormous assistance China rendered to Sierra Leone at the outbreak of Ebola and said the current maternal and child healthcare project is a response to the president's appeal for support to maternal and child health care services.

According to Yao Xu, president of Hunan's Children's Hospital, the team will carry out training for malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid among others and support the Sierra Leone Children's Hospital to build a standardized pediatric ward.