On March 5, Cui Li, vice-president of the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission (GNFCC) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held talks with Liu Qian, president of the Chinese Hospital Association (CHA) at the GNFCC Secretariat in Beijing.

Cui said that under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, the GNFCC will, in line with China's overall diplomatic agenda, leverage its advantages in people-to-people diplomacy during China's upcoming rotating presidency of the SCO this year, in a bid to contribute greater efforts to building a closer SCO community with a shared future.

The GNFCC highly commends the CHA's support for various events including the International Medical Innovation and Cooperation Forum (China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization), the SCO Forum on Traditional Medicine, the SCO Forum on People-to-People Friendship, Rehabilitation Training Exchange Event for Children with Cerebral Palsy (online & offline) and the SCO Forum on Hospital Cooperation, she added.

The two sides agreed to establish a working mechanism, build cooperation platforms and promote project-based cooperation, so as to advance the building of a global community of health for all.

Liu pointed out that President Xi had attached great importance to medical cooperation within the SCO framework, calling for more efforts in this regard in his speeches at previous SCO summits and aiming to improve the health and well-being of people around the world, which has been well received in the international community.

He expressed his hope that the GNFCC would continue to support the CHA in expanding the SCO Hospital Cooperation Alliance so as to jointly promote pragmatic cooperation among all parties, tell China's stories well and strengthen people-to-people connectivity.

Secretary-General of the GNFCC Zheng Wei and Vice-President of the CHA Chen Ningshan also attended the meeting.