Cao Xuetao, vice-minister of China's National Health Commission, met with Jean-Christophe Tellier, chief executive officer of UCB, a Belgian biopharma company, in Beijing on March 12 to discuss international cooperation in medical innovation.

Cao said China attaches great importance to the health of its people. At the recently concluded 2025 annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, NPC deputies and CPPCC members actively offered suggestions on healthcare issues to promote the high-quality development of the health sector.

China and Belgium have achieved remarkable results in cooperation in health personnel training, prevention and control of infectious diseases and medical scientific research, he said, noting that China looks forward to working with Belgium to further cooperation in innovative drug research and development, hospital information management and rare disease diagnosis and treatment.

He said he hoped that UCB will increase its investment in China and actively participate in the building of a Healthy China.

Tellier said UCB is confident about its development prospects in China and aspires to serve as a bridge for Belgium-China health cooperation, benefit the health of people in both countries with medical technology innovation, and contribute to the development of China's health sector.