On March 12, 2014, at his first press conference on the loss of contact of Malaysia Airlines flight in Kuala Lumpur, Guo Shaochun, the leader of the Chinese government joint work team and Deputy Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that search and rescue is still the most pressing task at the current moment.

Guo Shaochun said that after their arrival in Kuala Lumpur on March 10, the work team of the Chinese side has met with CEO of Malaysia Airlines and the executives of the emergency command center, and required them to join efforts with the Chinese side to intensify the search and rescue efforts in the whereabouts of the missing flight and to timely release authoritative information. Meanwhile, the Malaysian side is required to attentively listen to the rational appeals from the families of the Chinese passengers and to make the quick response, to provide good services to them and to ensure their safety and comfort during their stay in Malaysia.

He said that at present, eighteen family members of the Chinese passengers have arrived in Kuala Lumpur. The Chinese government joint work team had a three-hour talk with them, listening to their opinions and appeals face to face. The work team and the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia will well serve the families who came to Malaysia.

He said that the Malaysian side attaches great importance to the search and rescue operation, and successively dispatched 25 vessels and over 20 aircrafts to conduct 24-hour nonstop search. But regretfully, it still has not detected the whereabouts of the missing flight at present. He appreciated and affirmed the positive efforts of the Malaysian side.

The Chinese government joint work team and the diplomats of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia held a joint work meeting with the Malaysian side in Kuala Lumpur the same day, consulting and coordinating on the continuous management of the loss of contact of the Malaysia Airlines flight.