On PUMCH's 105th Anniversary, China and US Renew Medical Cooperation Pact

Chinese and US officials and health experts have called for deeper health cooperation between the two countries, saying medicine and public health can serve as a durable platform for the shared goal of promoting human wellness. The remarks came at an event Thursday in Beijing marking the 105th anniversary of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, where the hospital and the US-based China Medical Board signed a third five-year cooperation memorandum.

Half a century of health cooperation

Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said that for more than half a century, China and the United States have cooperated across a wide range of health related areas, including health policy, emerging and known infectious diseases, chronic disease prevention and treatment, medical research and clinical care technology, and that the two countries had also worked closely together fighting the Ebola outbreak and addressing global health challenges. He said the cooperation had produced fruitful results through mutual effort, and that as new global health challenges emerge, the two sides are expected to further strengthen health dialogue and medical education exchanges, encourage visits among physicians, scholars and students, and deepen cooperation in areas such as infectious disease response and cancer management.

A history intertwined with US medicine

Peking Union Medical College Hospital, known as PUMCH, was founded in 1921 by the US based Rockefeller Foundation through its China Medical Board and is one of the most prestigious hospitals in China. Zhang Shuyang, the hospital's president, said its development has been closely intertwined with the US medical, health and science sector, with a number of American medical experts who practiced and taught there contributing to its growth through their work, experiences that in turn became a highlight of their own careers. She pointed to Oswald Hope Robertson, an English born American medical scientist who established the world's first blood bank during World War I, as an example, noting that he later served as the hospital's second director of internal medicine, made pneumonia a focus of research there, and continued working in that field after returning to the United States. She also noted that after China and the United States established diplomatic relations, the first nongovernmental academic delegation to visit the US from China was a medical delegation.

Zhang said the hospital now maintains regular exchanges with more than 20 leading medical institutions and companies in the United States, with more than 300 mutual visits each year. She said the hospital welcomes American experts, scholars and young people to visit and connect with Chinese medical workers, and that it will keep strengthening clinical collaboration and the translation of joint research into practice.

A lasting platform for dialogue

Roger Glass, president of the China Medical Board, said the hospital's development stands as a living testament to the enduring value of people to people friendship and academic exchange between the two countries, describing the partnership between the two institutions as built on shared commitments, scientific rigor, professional excellence, service to society, and investment in the next generation of health and medical talent. He said the goal of deepening the partnership further is to support the hospital's continued growth and establish a mechanism for academic exchange between the two countries, adding that the renewed agreement comes at a time when sustained, constructive communication between China and the US matters especially. Glass said medicine, health and education offer an unusually durable platform for dialogue and cooperation, bringing educators, researchers and institutional leaders from both countries together through a shared professional language and a common evidence based approach to problem solving, and voiced hope that the two sides can work together to speed progress on disease prevention and treatment and extend healthy longevity.

David Perdue, the US ambassador to China, said the two countries have room to collaborate on shared health challenges including the rising burden of chronic disease and care for aging populations, calling PUMCH's development a clear example of what can be achieved when China and the US work together toward improving healthcare globally. Perdue also noted that China has emerged as a competitor in biological and pharmaceutical innovation, a field where the US has long held a leading position, but said that competition and cooperation are never mutually exclusive.