The third China-ASEAN Forum on Health Cooperation towards a Health Silk Road was held on-site and online from Nov 24 to 25 in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Ma Xiaowei, minister of China's National Health Commission (NHC), delivered a video speech. 

Speakers on the spot included NHC's Vice-minister Yu Xuejun, Sun Da, deputy director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Huang Junhua, vice-chairman of Guangxi.

About 350 participants joined the forum, including ministerial-level health officials of ASEAN countries, delegates of the ASEAN Secretariat and the World Health Organization, and representatives of China’s provincial-level health authorities as well as medical and academic institutions.

Ma said that recent years have seen substantial achievements in health cooperation between China and ASEAN member states, and health has become an important field of bilateral collaboration. 

He called on all parties to strengthen joint prevention and control of infectious diseases, maintain health security, actively enhance synergy in health development strategies, promote health development and innovation, and commit to building a China-ASEAN health community.

Yu briefed the meeting participants on the Healthy China 2030 plan and dialogued with his counterparts on health development strategies and joint prevention and control measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Officials of the health departments of the ASEAN countries and representatives of international organizations agreed to deepen health collaboration with China to promote public health and security. 

The forum adopted an initiative on China-ASEAN health cooperation. A China-Indonesia health cooperation implementation plan was signed online.