Health forum connects Shandong with Tokyo

Officials and experts from China and Japan vowed to further enhance cooperation on global health issues, as well as adopt a green and low-carbon development path, during a high-level forum on Tuesday.

Under the framework of the Boao Forum for Asia and themed "Health for Humankind and the Earth", the China-Japan New Era Health Forum was held in Qingdao, Shandong province, and Toyko, Japan, with a live video feed connecting attendees.

The forum aimed to stimulate discussion on green development, energy conservation, environmental protection, medical care and the joint development of smart and healthy city projects.

Chen Zhu, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that China is an active advocate and practitioner of international health cooperation and that China and Japan have promising prospects and great potential for cooperation in the healthcare sector.

Both countries should strengthen multilevel and wide-ranging health cooperation, expand personnel exchanges and join hands to overcome common problems facing human health, Chen said.

Japan will host the Tokyo Olympic Games next year and China will host the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, a year that will mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization of the China-Japan diplomatic ties, cooperation between the two countries in the field of health is also bound to be raised to a new level, he said.

Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, said that during the special period of the novel coronavirus pandemic it is of great significance for Chinese and Japanese citizens to discuss a range of topics, including how to deal with the pandemic.

Because becoming carbon-neutral is of global importance, China and Japan should undertake joint initiatives and actions to move toward fulfilling the forum's theme.

He suggested that China and Japan should work together to build smart and healthy cities oriented toward carbon neutrality.

Zhou Xiaochuan, vice-chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia, noted that China and Japan are important close neighbors, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) signed recently by 15 countries, including China and Japan, will further promote bilateral economic and trade relations between the two countries.

He said China and Japan will further strengthen cooperation in key areas, including technological innovation, digital economy, smart cities, energy conservation, environmental protection, medical care, e-commerce and third-party markets.

In July 2018, the Boao Forum for Asia declared the inception of the Global Health Forum in Beijing to promote the development of global health causes and industry. The first session was held in June last year in Qingdao.

Qingdao will host the second session of the health forum in June next year.