The Sino-US Medical Education Forum was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept 20, themed “Better Education and Healthcare,” to discuss how medical school education could better serve the needs of medical and health services in the future.

Chen Zhu vice-chairman of the NPC Standing Committee，said that it is necessary to strengthen training of general practitioners who have received professional education and give full support to general practice in medical schools.

Chen also said that China and the US should strengthen cooperation in medical education and global health challenges.

In the forum, Li Bin, minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, stressed that medical education must adapt to healthcare reform, adding that China and the US should work together to cultivate more new medical talents.

The forum also reviewed the history of medical cooperation between the two countries with one typical example of the Peking Union Medical College under the support of the American Rockefeller Foundation.

Lin Huiqing, assistant minister of the Ministry of Education, attended the summit and delivered speeches. Liu Qian, vice-minister of the NHFPC, hosted the meeting.

Taking part were 250 representatives from 60 medical education institutes, including Peking Union Medical College, Peking University, Fudan University, Harvard University, John Hopkins University, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and University of Hong Kong.

The forum is an important cultural event between China and the US as part of the two countries’ High-Level Consultation Mechanism on People-to-People Exchange initiated in July.

The co-hosts were the National Health and Family Planning Commission and the China Medical Board.