The first Health Working Group meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2021 was held on Feb 27 and March 2 via video link.

Co-chaired by Canada and Malaysia, the meeting gathered over 80 representatives from 17 APEC economies and the World Health Organization (WHO). Delegates from China's National Health Commission (NHC) and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention attended and addressed the meeting.

The meeting reviewed and approved the 2021 work plan of the Health Working Group, and listened to reports on progress made in vaccines, mental health, nutrition, healthy aging, and prevention and control of Alzheimer's disease and chronic diseases. The Chinese representatives introduced the progress China made in such areas as COVID-19 vaccination and chronic disease prevention and control, and participated in the discussions on related topics.

The APEC Health Working Group was established in 2007 as a thematic working group responsible for health cooperation under the framework of APEC. In recent years, and especially since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, health has been playing a bigger role in economic growth. Therefore, the APEC Health Working Group has played a more significant role.