Fangchenggang forum to focus on health in SCO member states

Event to explore ways of eliminating barriers in policies, trade

South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region is hoping to gain attention from medical experts and industrial insiders by hosting an international medical forum.

The International Medical Innovation and Cooperation Forum will kick off on Sunday in Fangchenggang city and lasts four days.

With the approval of the State Council, the forum will implement the consensus on sanitary cooperation reached by member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization during its 2018 summit in Qingdao, Shandong province. It will also serve China's diplomacy and create new platforms for nonofficial diplomatic activities.

The SCO member states reached an agreement on strengthening collaboration in health, and issued a statement on joint efforts against the threat of epidemics during the last year's summit.

The four-day event is held by the SCO Commission of Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, the Guangxi government, and sponsored by the Beijing Peace Tour Cultural Exchange Center, the autonomous region's foreign affairs office and health commission, and the Fangchenggang government.

Focused on the theme of "health, cooperation, innovation and sharing - to construct an innovative, cooperative and sharing medical platform under the SCO framework", the forum will be a healthy, humanitarian, pragmatic and innovative conference to improve health conditions for people in the SCO member states and build a community with a shared future for health, organizers said.

Health, as a premise of enjoying a happy life, is a shared topic and pursuit of people around the world. It is also an important indicator of a well-off society, a common desire for a better life and a key component of global well-being and people's livelihoods. Cooperation is to promote exchanges and coordination between private and local medical institutions in theories, policies, technologies, services and human resources by making full use of the existing resources and advantages of the SCO member states.

Innovation aims to break down the barriers of countries in the medical field, build new medical innovation and cooperation platforms, carry out pilot programs and implement collaborative innovation and development strategies in the sector, in a bid to promote an efficient flow of medical resources and continuous improvement of medical quality in all countries.

Sharing aims to make people in the globe enjoy affordable and effective medical and health services via means of lowering drug prices and deepening international cooperation.

Ban Zhongbai, mayor of Fangchenggang and deputy director of the forum's organizing committee, said the choice of Fangchenggang as the host of the event was because of its geographical and policy advantages.

"Fangchenggang is an ecological bay city with a full sea view and has a coastline stretching 580 kilometers. It boasts the world's only national-level golden camellias tea natural reserve and China's largest and most classic mangrove forest natural reserve.

Blessed with nice weather and suitable living environment, Fangchenggang has won titles of Oxygen City of China and Longevity City of China," said Ban.

As for favorable policies, Ban said Fangchenggang, as the only Chinese city linking with one of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by land and sea routes, has been piloting several national development strategies covering border tourism, Sino-Vietnamese crossborder economic cooperation and comprehensive border financial reform. The city is now an important gateway in China's opening-up strategy and trade cooperation with ASEAN countries.

Guangxi is prioritizing construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor to further integrate into the fast-growing Belt and Road Initiative.

The new corridor is an efficient and convenient route comprising railway, sea, highway and other modes of transport.

It is run by Chongqing with western provinces such as Guizhou, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang as key nodes of a major southward transport corridor that reaches ASEAN countries.

"The new corridor will not just serve logistics, but also serve the overall development," said Li Yanqiang, Party chief of Fangchenggang and a deputy to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature. "It will help the involved regions and areas better serve the BRI and promote China's new round of western development," he added.

Organizers said the upcoming medical forum will promote the SCO member states to explore ways of eliminating barriers in policies, technologies, trade and institutions in field of medical cooperation, which conforms to the requirements of the times and to the people's expectation to live a better life.

It includes five sub-forums focusing on medical and health policies; public security and emergency rescue; orthopedics; intelligent medical treatment; and prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Senior officials from China and other SCO member states will be invited as honorary chairmen, and representatives from pharmaceutical companies are expected to take part in these activities, together with medical experts, investors and hospital directors.

So far, organizers have invited about 800 participants from 26 countries and organizations, including Thailand, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as the SCO member states, observer countries and dialogue partners.

Of them, there are 18 Chinese academicians, 3 masters of traditional Chinese medical sciences and 50 top medical experts.

Nine medical fields will be highlighted by the event, including the national health, disease prevention and control, medical services, traditional Chinese medicine, medical education and scientific research.

Nearly 100 pharmaceutical entrepreneurs from home and abroad will have negotiations seeking for more investment and cooperation opportunities, and participate in China-India entrepreneurs round table conferences, to lay a foundation for medical cooperation between Chinese and foreign companies.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/25/2019 page16)