Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma has pledged to donate two million protective masks for distribution across Europe, with a first consignment arriving in Belgium late on Friday. He also offered the United States 500,000 coronavirus test kits and a million masks, as the country faces a shortage of kits for diagnosing the potentially deadly disease.

A cargo plane loaded with 500,000 masks and other medical supplies such as test kits landed at Liege Airport. The consignment will be sent to Italy, a joint statement by the Alibaba and Jack Ma foundations, the Belgian region of Wallonia and Liege Airport said.

Further flights are due arrive in coming days to the airport, which is set to become Alibaba's main European hub for e-commerce shipments.