US-China medical leaders gather in Washington to mark cooperation

Medical experts and scholars from China and the United States gathered at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, on Sept 22 for an event highlighting more than a century of medical exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

Titled Medicine Across Oceans — A Century of Shared Learning and Partnerships, the event was part of the overseas program of Peking Union Medical College Hospital’s (PUMCH) 105th Anniversary Academic Week. It featured a US-China medical dialogue and an exchange among young scholars, focusing on the history and future of bilateral medical cooperation. The event was jointly hosted by the PUMCH, the US National Academy of Medicine and the China Medical Board (CMB).

At the White House welcome ceremony on Sept 24, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed that “the interests of China and the US are deeply intertwined, and there is plenty of room for us to work together”. The two countries’ medical ties date back to 1914, when the CMB was established with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. In the following decades, US physicians and medical educators came to China, helping introduce modern scientific medicine and contributing to the establishment of Peking Union Medical College and PUMCH, while laying an important foundation for their own professional achievements.

At the medical dialogue, PUMCH President Zhang Shuyang, National Academy of Medicine President Monica Bertagnolli and CMB President Roger Glass delivered keynote presentations. Zhang highlighted the deep historical roots of US-China medical cooperation and called for further collaboration in areas including rare diseases and healthy aging. Bertagnolli stressed the importance of sustained scientific and health cooperation in addressing shared global challenges, while Glass noted China’s growing role in global medical research and called for continued mutual learning and collaboration.

The event also brought together young medical scholars from both countries, who shared experiences of cross-border collaboration and discussed academic exchanges, talent mobility and joint responses to global health challenges.

Zhang said PUMCH will continue working with US medical institutions to strengthen academic ties and advance practical cooperation. President Glass concluded by quoting Confucius: “Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?” and described the gathering as a new starting point for the next century of US-China medical collaboration.

Medical cooperation can transcend national boundaries and provide a channel for sustained people-to-people exchange. Continued engagement among medical professionals, particularly the younger generation, could help preserve the longstanding ties across the ocean while addressing health challenges shared by both countries.

Luo Yanxi contributed to this story.