ASEAN—China Cooperation in the Health Sector

The 6th ASEAN-China and the 7th ASEAN+3 （China， Japan， South Korea） health ministers’ meetings were held in Bandar Seri Begawan， the capital of Brunei on Sept. 7.

Wang Hesheng， vice minister of China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission， said at the meetings that China intends to strengthen pragmatic cooperation in the health sector with ASEAN. He said that bilateral cooperation in the health sector has effectively safeguarded the region’s health security， boosted the development of the health sector and enhanced friendship between the two sides.

According to Wang， China will also conduct cooperation in key areas including public health， telemedicine and disaster health response， as well as in other areas under the ASEAN+3 mechanism.

Dr. Hj Zulkarnain， Brunei’s health minister， said， “We agreed to intensify cooperation in health development based on a whole-of-society approach with emphasis on strong and effective multi-sectoral collaboration.”

Two joint statements were issued after the meetings， calling for addressing health challenges with a comprehensive approach while strengthening cooperation.