Video report showing the opening ceremony, panel discussions, opening of exhibition of traditional Chinese medicine and program at the main venue of the summit in Prague’s Hilton Hotel, as well as a gala dinner at the Žofín Palace is here:

Ceremonial introducing of new TV series Panda and Little Mole, which was created in Czech-Chinese cooperation, was held as part of the accompanying program at the Prague Castle. Czech and Chinese children, the Czech President Mr. Milos Zeman, Vice-President of the State Council of the PRC Ms. Liu Yandong, many important members of the accompanying delegation and other guests attended this event. Video report you can found here:

In her speech delivered at the meeting’s opening ceremony, Liu called for efforts to build the China-CEEC health ministers meeting into a key cooperation platform, break new ground in China-CEEC comprehensive cooperation and thus promote the development of China-European Union Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in an all-around, balanced and sustainable manner.

Liu said China is a steadfast force in promoting global health cooperation and has been active in participating in international health assistance programs.

Meanwhile, she also noted that countries across the world including CEEC countries have offered their support for the development of China’s healthcare sector over the years.

Liu further expressed hope that the international communities will step up exchanges and cooperation in medicine and healthcare areas and support a bigger role of the World Health Organization in a bid to address public health challenges and promote health and welfare of the humankind.

The 2015 Health Ministers meeting between China and CEEC was held on June 16 in Prague.

Xinhua, Jun 17,2015

Several hundreds of attendees gathered in the premises of the Hilton hotel in Prague, where the summit’s opening ceremony was held as well as the rest of the main program. Leading experts from several fields of health care gave lectures or attended those of others in eight panel discussions, and had the opportunity to debate the presented topics and opportunities afterwards. An exhibition focused on traditional Chinese medicine was also a part of the program.

“The realization of this summit itself and the fact that you, leading experts, doctors, researchers and entrepreneurs, are attending in order to discuss topics associated with health, scientific and economic cooperation – this proves the significance and success of the “16+1” group,” said the Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka at the summit’s opening ceremony.

He reminded the audience that, of all the CEEC, it was the Czech Republic who signed a memorandum of cooperation at the level of health ministries together with the PRC, and also expressed his delight that thanks to the HMM, this successful cooperation had spread across the “16+1” group. The Prime Minister also pointed out that while pursuing sustainable development of the society one cannot act in isolation when it comes to such an important area as health care, on the contrary, the best of all traditions and innovations created all over the world should be linked together.

“With this goal in mind, we offer reciprocal education, exchange scholarships, academic and industrial cooperation and collaboration of experts. I enjoy sharing our experience in developing high-quality health care in the Czech Republic, our know-how and unique technologies,” said Bohuslav Sobotka.

LIU Yandong, the Vice Premier of the State Council of the PRC, also addressed the attendees. She informed them about China’s ongoing process of reforming health care in order to provide every Chinese with the access to the basic health services. Regarding this, China is facing enormous challenges. “In the future, we will continue the development and learn from the experience of other countries,” said LIU Yandong.

She also said that she had already visited eight CEE countries and experienced the kindness of their people. “Geographically, our countries are not close, but our hearts are,” she added. She stressed that the friendship of the people of the CEEC and China had lasted many years and that the cooperation had been significantly evolving during the last three years. “Together we represent one fifth of the world‘s population and we can contribute to the development of health care all over the world,” said LIU Yandong.

The summit was held under the auspices of the Czech and Chinese ministers of health Svatopluk Němeček and LI Bin. Both ministers delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.

According to the Czech Minister of Health Svatopluk Němeček, it is the health sector that pioneers the cooperation within the “16+1” group, which was also confirmed by the summit. “There is no doubt that the health systems of our countries are different, very different in some respects. However, as the ministers of health we want to provide our citizens with the best care possible. In these globally connected times we cannot reach this goal each on our own, and that is why I would now like to appeal for our mutual cooperation,” said Svatopluk Němeček.

The Chinese Minister of Health LI Bin confirmed that in the health sector there truly is laid a good foundation for cooperation. She mentioned the memorandum of the Czech and Chinese ministries of health and also offered to share the experience of traditional Chinese medicine. “China is ready to share its experience of TCM with the CEE countries…,”said LI Bin.

According to the Minister, the complex needs in the health sector were reflected well by the HMM. The ongoing cooperation may thus represent an excellent beginning of its more intensive form in the future. “This is a good opportunity to interconnect the Eastern and Western wisdom,” she added.

The two ministers also called for cooperation not only at the level of the ministries, but also on the level of health organizations, individual medical facilities and between individual experts. The goal the HMM set for itself was to encourage and successfully kick-start cooperation of exactly this scope and form.

PRAGUE — China is willing to work with the Czech Republic to expand areas of cooperation and lift bilateral ties to new stages, visiting Vice-Premier Liu Yandong has said.

Liu made the remarks while meeting with Bohuslav Sobotka, prime minister of the Czech Republic, on June 15 in Prague.

The vice-premier said the “Belt and Road” initiatives will offer new, important opportunities for the development of Sino-Czech ties.

She urged both sides to take advantage of the cooperation platform between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) and lift China-CEEC cooperation to a new level in the process of jointly advancing the construction of “Belt and Road”.

Sobotka said his country considers deepening friendly cooperation with China as a priority target of its foreign policies and is willing to advance exchanges and cooperation with China in trade, technology, transport, environmental protection, healthcare, sports and films and television, etc.

Moreover, he said the Czech side appreciates China-proposed “Belt and Road” initiatives, which is good for promoting common development of the countries along the “Belt and Road,” and his country is willing to actively participate in the process.

Xinhua, Jun 17,2015

The success of the HMM proved that meetings of the official health sector representatives with individual health experts, and discussion about the opportunities and topics – of either local or global scope – faced by both China and the CEEC are necessary.

“It is an important milestone in the cooperation of the “16+1” group in the health sector and China attaches great importance to it,” said the Vice Premier of the State Council of the PRC LIU Yandong.

On behalf of the Chinese government, she expressed her thanks and offered her congratulations on the successful opening of this forum and its excellent organization. After that, she expressed her wish for successful development of cooperation between the CEEC and China.

She also said that China is ready to further develop and support this cooperation and recommended that the HMM form be used to lay the foundations of cooperation in the health sector. She also suggested that the second HMM take place in Beijing.

“Let’s learn together, so that 16 and 1 makes more than 17,” said LIU Yandong.

At present, the research centre is seated in several rooms in the teaching hospital complex. Experts in it will examine traditional Chinese medicine´s effect on oncological patients and those with multiple sclerosis.

The future clinic worth about a quarter of billion crowns would not only treat patients but also focus on research and teaching, Prymula said.

“In future, the clinic should be a traditional Chinese medicine centre for Central and Eastern Europe,” he said.

Liu Yandong said this is a pilot project and the first centre of traditional Chinese medicine in Central and Eastern Europe.

It will help improve the health condition of Czech citizens, she said and stressed the importance of further bilateral cooperation in the health area.

Some Czech doctors previously protested against the planned construction of the new clinic.

For example, Czech Doctors´ Chamber (CLK) President Milan Kubek said on Czech Television in January that the CLK recommends medicine based on verified proofs to patients.

Czech Health Minister Svatopluk Nemecek (Social Democrats, CSSD) has dismissed the reservations.

“No one plans to replace the classical medicine with the traditional Chinese one. The latter is really a complement…like spa care or rehabilitation. It is simply a method that can effectively relieve of unpleasant symptoms such as pain and muscular convulsions ,” Nemecek said.

ČTK, Jun 17,2015

The opening of the centre was part of the additional program of the summit of Health Ministers of countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEEC) and China entitled Health Ministers Meeting 2015, which took place on June 15 – 17 in Prague as part of the cooperation between the Group 16+1 countries. During the summit, a Memorandum on Cooperation between UHHK and its partners from Shanghai was signed, which made it possible to establish the centre and take other steps together in the area of TCM. The collaboration between UHHK and its Shanghai partners began two years ago and within a short period of time it became a model in this area for the entire Group 16+1.

The opening of the centre is the first step. In autumn 2015 the hospital wants to make TCM outpatient departments accessible and within three years it intends to build a brand new stand-alone clinic, for which a plot and a project has already been prepared.

This would be a unique facility among the CEEC countries, the largest of its kind in the Central and Eastern European region, which would become a teaching and research centre for this whole area. Similar facilities already exist in a number of Western European countries.

“We want to find a model which we could implement throughout Central and Eastern Europe,” said Roman Prymula, director of the University Hospital Hradec Králové, who presented the project and cooperation at the summit.

At the recently open TCM centre in UHHK there will be two physicians from Shanghai, who will lead clinical research and visit patients at other clinics. At first, there will be scientific research, which will show whether there is potential in TCM and compare its results with Western methods of therapy.

The hospital would like to monitor TCM therapy effects in neurology, for instance in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, and in oncology. “We want to use the advantages of TCM, ease the adverse side effects of treatment with biological medicine, i.e. pain, vomiting, etc., because we believe TCM has a lot to offer,” said Roman Prymula.

The hospital will not substitute Western medicine with TCM methods, but it wants to take advantage of the positive sides of both to improve care and ensure maximum rise in the patients’ quality of life. To that end, it intends to cultivate TCM in a complex manner.

“It should mean we offer complementary care. We certainly do not wish to substitute Western medicine with Eastern, but to offer integrated care in places where we have clearly documented the advantages of both systems,” Roman Prymula assured his audience.

Firstly, the hospital would develop acupuncture care and related procedures, or acupressure. Gradually, TCM treatments and care should be developed in a complex manner at UHHK. The hospital will also cooperate with Bohdaneč spa, where a TCM centre is being established for the spa’s clients.

The creation of the Czech-Chinese Centre for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Research and the cooperation in this area was made possible by very advanced collaboration between the Czech Republic and PRC in healthcare. This collaboration, which was extended to include the 16+1 Group, was received favourably by the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Mr. Bohuslav Sobotka.

“In Chine, TCM is naturally considered to be a national treasure, a legitimate scientific discipline, and it is supported widely by experts as well as the general public. TCM is gaining growing support in the world and it also has the support of the World Health Organization. Modern European medicine can use TCM as a suitable complementary tool to treat and reduce patients’ problems in some diagnoses,” said Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka during the summit.

HMM is one of the summit events held under the Guideline for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC), adopted by Prime Ministers from CEEC and PRC at their Belgrade summit in December 2014. This Guideline extends the previous Warsaw Initiative and the Bucharest Guideline, which became the building stones of cooperation between CEEC and China.

The Czech Republic has been part of this cooperation, realized as part of the “16+1” group, since its very beginning. In many areas, the Czech Republic is the leader and the driving force of the advancement of cooperation. Healthcare is one of these areas.

Already since 2012 there has been extensive cooperation between the Czech Republic and PRC in the healthcare sector. The result of intense communication in the field of healthcare between the two countries came in October last year with the signing of an important memorandum of strategic partnership between the Czech and Chinese Ministries of Health.

Seeing the progress in healthcare the two countries have already achieved, it is logical to hold the first summit on collaboration in healthcare within the “16 + 1” group in the heart of Europe, the Czech Republic.

Concrete results of the collaboration will be presented at the HMM. The event will also be an occasion to deepen the collaboration in order to reach other specific goals, create new friendly ties, and hold numerous bilateral talks – all in the diplomatic sphere, as well as on the part of trade delegations.

One of the most outstanding examples of the collaboration within the “16 + 1” group in healthcare will be the opening of the first clinic of traditional Chinese medicine among the CEEC countries in the University Hospital Hradec Králové.

The Czech Republic and PRC have a very advanced level of cooperation in the field of healthcare, which is the main theme of the HMM summit, and they consider these ties and the event itself to be of the utmost importance. It represents the peak of mutual cooperation not only between the Czech Republic and the PRC, but also between the PRC and CEEC this year. Given the significance of this event, the Czech Republic will receive a large delegation led by the Vice-Chairperson of the State Council of People’s Republic of China, Mrs. Liu Yandong, accompanied by the Minister of Health Li Bin. The Director-General of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) Mrs. Margaret Chan has also graciously accepted the invitation to the HMM.

Participation at the HMM has been confirmed by twelve countries of Central and Eastern Europe, of which Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia will be represented on the Ministers of Health level; Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia and Poland on the level of the Health Ministers’ Deputies.

A number of Ministries and government administrations report directly to the State Council of PRC headed by Mrs. Liu Yandong. They include the National Health and Family Planning Commission (Ministry of Health), Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture or the National Tourism Administration, and a number of other ministries.

The Chinese delegation comprises the Directors General of Health Bureaus from fourteen Chinese provinces, representatives from thirteen central administration offices reporting to the Ministry of Health of PRC, and leading doctors and scientists from various areas of expertise.

Special attention is also given to business cooperation in healthcare and pharmacy. To that end, over 30 prominent Chinese healthcare businesses are joining talks in two special-focus panels. In total, the Chinese delegation to HMM will surpass 230 members. There will also be important investors in healthcare from CEEC countries, also the current top-level Chinese investors in the Czech Republic, including CEFC China, Bank of China or Fosun Shanghai.