The first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Health Working Group meeting for 2026 was held in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, from Feb 1 to 2. Zheng Zhe, vice-minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), delivered a speech via video link at the opening ceremony.

Zheng said that health is the cornerstone of prosperity, and the Asia-Pacific region currently faces shared challenges and new opportunities for health cooperation. Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are reshaping the landscape of healthcare services, providing new pathways for building people-centered and integrated healthcare systems, he said.

Zheng called on all economies to uphold the concept of an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future, jointly building a healthy, resilient and inclusive Asia-Pacific region and promoting the building of a global community of health for all.

This meeting was one of the first official events of the APEC "China Year". During the meeting, representatives from participating economies had in-depth discussions on topics including digital and intelligent health, healthy aging, traditional medicine, mental health, public health and the health industry.

Policy dialogues on promoting brain health and healthy aging were also held concurrently. About 110 representatives from 18 economies, including Russia, the Republic of Korea, the United States, Indonesia and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, participated in the events. Officials and experts from relevant departments of China's NHC, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration were also present.