Global experts pledge medical innovation ties

International medical leaders and experts have pledged to strengthen collaboration with China in the field of traditional medicine, aiming to build a global community of health.

The commitment was made on Tuesday at the opening of the 2025 International Medical Innovation and Cooperation Forum in Fangchenggang, a city in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Themed "Medical Innovation and Sharing for Sustainable Development of Health," the event drew more than 400 participants from China and abroad, including officials from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, medical professionals, academics and industry leaders.

Shen Yueyue, chairperson of the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation Commission of the SCO, delivered the keynote address. She emphasized the forum's goal of deepening medical innovation ties with the SCO, ASEAN and Belt and Road Initiative countries. She also called for joint efforts to further develop a high-quality international medical opening-up pilot zone in Fangchenggang.

The pilot zone, launched in 2019 near the China-Vietnam border, focuses on medical innovation and international healthcare cooperation, especially with ASEAN nations and SCO members.

Chhem Kieth Rethy, senior minister and chairman of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of Cambodia, highlighted the global disparity in access to healthcare.

"We live in a world marked by profound inequality in access to healthcare," he said. "This forum offers a powerful platform to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that medical innovation benefits not only the privileged few but also underserved communities — particularly in low-resource settings across ASEAN, SCO countries and BRI countries."

He added that the forum is more than a diplomatic or technical event — it is "a testament to our shared humanity and our collective resolve to improve health and wellbeing through innovation and cooperation."

Yusufi Salomudin Jabbor, an official with Tajikistan's Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population, described China as Tajikistan's top trading partner. He noted that more than 180 Chinese medical products have been registered in Tajikistan.

Traditional Chinese medicine also remains popular in the Central Asian country, he said. "There is now a traditional Chinese medicine center in Tajikistan, and significant achievements have been made in cooperation in this field. By 2024, the center has hosted two TCM forums. There are already seven such TCM centers in Tajikistan."

Jabbor proposed two areas for further cooperation: expanding joint efforts in traditional Chinese medicine and establishing more research centers and pharmaceutical factories to develop Tajikistan's medical resources.

The forum, which runs through Wednesday, includes four sub-forums focused on exploring new pathways, approaches and models for international cooperation in medical innovation.