Deputy president of China's national health watchdog body attended a commemorative ceremony in Tokyo on Oct 14 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Sasakawa Medical Scholarship program.

Ma Xiaowei, deputy minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission attends a commemorative ceremony in Tokyo on Oct 14, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Sasakawa Medical Scholarship program.

Ma Xiaowei, deputy minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), spoke highly of the program and its role in advancing the relationship between China and Japan's healthcare industries through the exchange of ideas and personnel.

Ma also expressed his three-point wish of the program for the years ahead — keep the pioneering spirit, cooperate even closer, and deepen mutual respect.

The scholarship — as part of the exchange program for medical personnel between China and Japan — was established in 1986. With the scholarship, China sent about 80 Chinese doctors and nurses to Japan every year for them to pursue further studies or research at medical universities and hospitals around Japan.

Cheng Yonghua, China's ambassador to Japan, said, "The Sasakawa Medical Scholarship program is effective and both sides vigorously promote the cultivation of China’s medical talents."

"At the same time, it also promotes mutual understanding between the two countries and plays the positive role in advancing mutual trust," Cheng said.

Around 400 representatives from the health sector in both countries, including Noriko Furuya, State Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, and the Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, attended the ceremony.