Ma Xiaowei (R), minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), meets with Carlos Miguel Pereira, Cuban ambassador to China, on March 5. [Photo/nhc.gov.cn]

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), met with Cuban Ambassador to China Carlos Miguel Pereira in Beijing on March 5.

Ma said that China and Cuba have a deep friendship and a sound foundation for health cooperation, adding that the two countries have supported each other in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and made great efforts to push forward international collaboration. He briefed Pereira on the progress on China's fight against the pandemic, and expressed the willingness to deepen bilateral cooperation and exchanges in both the virus fight and other health-related areas to contribute to building a global health community for all.

Pereira spoke highly of China-Cuba bilateral relations and health cooperation, and said he hopes to deepen exchanges and collaboration in vaccine research and development, COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment, medical personnel training, and medical service supervision.

After the meeting, Ma and Pereira renewed a memorandum of understanding on health cooperation between the two countries' health authorities.