BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- A leading Chinese hospital and a U.S. medical foundation have renewed their cooperation for five more years, a move observers say signals closer China-U.S. collaboration as the two sides seek to address global health challenges.
Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) in Beijing and the China Medical Board (CMB) from the United States inked their third five-year memorandum of understanding on Thursday in Beijing.
The agreement was renewed at the opening of a China-U.S. medical exchange conference and an academic week marking the 105th anniversary of PUMCH's founding.
Since signing their first such memorandum in 2016, PUMCH and the CMB have collaborated on medical training, education and clinical postdoctoral programs, helping improve residency training in China and bring it closer to international standards.
Zeng Yixin, deputy head of the National Health Commission, said he hoped China and the United States would continue to strengthen practical and equal exchanges in medicine.
He also called for a shared commitment to health for all and joint efforts to safeguard global health security.
A TRIBUTE TO A CENTURY OF MEDICAL EXCHANGES
The conference and academic week attracted hundreds of medical professionals and scholars from across the Pacific.
Chen Zhu, a molecular biologist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said while attending the event on Thursday that PUMCH's history was a microcosm of the development of modern medicine in China and a model of medical exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States.
PUMCH was founded by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1921 through the CMB. It continued providing medical care during the wartime years and later became a bridge for medical exchanges with the United States as China embarked on reform and opening up in the late 1970s.
Today, it is a major medical center in China, known for its broad range of disciplines, advanced technologies and clinical expertise.
David Perdue, U.S. ambassador to China, said competition and cooperation are never mutually exclusive.
The development of PUMCH is a shining example of what China and the United States can accomplish when they work together to improve healthcare in the world, he said.
For more than half a century, the two countries have cooperated on health policy, infectious disease prevention and control, chronic disease prevention and treatment, medical research and clinical care technology. They have also worked closely to combat Ebola outbreaks.
The PUMCH-CMB agreement came amid a series of China-U.S. medical exchanges this year. Highlights included a visit by Yale Cancer Center experts to Beijing in April and a track-two dialogue in Hangzhou in east China on biomedical innovation, AI applications and cardiovascular health in June.
"Medicine, health and education provide a uniquely durable platform for dialogue and cooperation," said Roger Glass, president of the CMB, at the event.
During the academic week, PUMCH will also host a medical exchange conference with the University of Chicago, among other academic events. ■
