China vows to back global health efforts

The Chinese delegation to the 78th World Health Assembly made remarks on Saturday at a news conference in Geneva. (Photo by Zheng Wanyin/China Daily)

The Chinese delegation to the 78th World Health Assembly, set to convene on Monday in Geneva, has vowed to promote international health cooperation and actively contribute to discussions on a wide range of priorities, including an agreement on pandemics.

The delegation, led by Lei Haichao, minister of China's National Health Commission, made the remarks on Saturday at a news conference, where they introduced their involvement in the gathering.

This year's assembly, themed "One World for Health", runs through May 27. It will address about 75 items and sub-items, covering topics, including health emergency preparedness and response, financing and budgeting, World Health Organization governance reform, and other pressing global health issues.

A key highlight will be the consideration of adopting the pandemic agreement — a document outlining how to better tackle future pandemics in a more well-organized and equitable manner — which WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus describes as "truly historic".

The final draft of the treaty was released last month following three years of talks among WHO member states. Notable elements include the rapid sharing of data about new diseases, the allocation of medical resources to the WHO in the event of a future outbreak, and the transfer of health technologies to poorer nations, the BBC reported.

Speaking at the news conference, Xia Gang, deputy director of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, said China welcomes consensus among all parties on the draft agreement.

Xia said he believes the pact will help promote the equitable distribution of technology, funding and resources and support developing countries in strengthening their capacity to detect and respond to pandemics.

China has always been a staunch supporter and practitioner of multilateralism, as well as an active participant in global public health governance, he said. China's constructive participation in the negotiations of the pandemic treaty is a prime example of this commitment, he added.

Regarding Taiwan province's participation in this year's assembly, Chen Xu, permanent representative of China to the United Nations office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, said the region's participation in events of international organizations, including the WHO, must follow the one-China principle, which is also a fundamental principle confirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 and World Health Assembly Resolution 25.1.

"There is no so-called gap in the international anti-pandemic system, as hyped up by Democratic Progressive Party authorities of Taiwan province as well as a few countries," Chen said, pointing out that the Chinese central government has made proper arrangements for Taiwan province's participation in global health affairs under the one-China principle.

The central government has approved the participation in WHO technical activities by 11 batches of 12 health experts from Taiwan province over the past year, and there is an International Health Regulations Contact Point in Taiwan province for it to promptly access health emergencies information from the WHO and report such information to it, Chen said.

"This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the recovery of Taiwan province," he said.

"Yet, at this critical juncture, the DPP as well as a few countries have attempted to reverse the course of history blatantly, again. They are essentially trying to challenge the postwar international order."

In addition to engaging in the main event, the Chinese delegation will host three side events during the assembly, focusing on the digital and intelligent empowerment of primary healthcare, traditional medicine, and mental health.

The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of the WHO. Attended by delegations from all 194 WHO member states, it brings together high-level country representatives and other stakeholders to address global health challenges.