As SCO eyes closer health cooperation, China presents medical innovation

XI'AN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- At a logistics hub in Xi'an, a city known for sending freight trains loaded with premium goods across Eurasia, Syed Mustafa Kamal from Pakistan was imagining a different kind of treasure -- medical expertise and innovation.

Kamal, the health minister of Pakistan, was there on Monday to visit the International Land Port Hospital under the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University.

In the neurology department, Kamal tested a brain-computer interface (BCI) system, wearing a brainwave-sensing headband and a robotic glove. As he focused, a virtual hand on a screen moved, catching butterflies and flipping eggs -- driven purely by thought.

Developed in-house, this BCI technology aids stroke patients in regaining hand function through neural rehabilitation.

"Phenomenal," Kamal said repeatedly during his tour, which also took him to the sunlit outpatient halls, 5G ambulances and advanced surgical instruments.

"This is why Pakistan is eager to deepen healthcare cooperation with China," Kamal said. "We hope these outstanding practices can take root in our own health system."

The official's hospital tour was a side event of the eighth Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Health Ministers' Meeting held in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Monday.

Senior health officials from member states and dialogue partners of the SCO, an organization that spans over half of Eurasia and represents nearly half the world's population, gathered to discuss deepening collaboration to address global public health challenges.

Initiated primarily for regional security cooperation in 2001, the SCO has evolved into a multidimensional platform dedicated to fostering closer cooperation across various sectors, with public health emerging as a key priority.

And Xi'an -- boasting strong healthcare capabilities supported by top-notch cross-disciplinary research institutions and close geographic ties to many SCO countries -- provided a fitting backdrop for the high-level discussions.

At the heart of Monday's meeting was a shared commitment to bolstering emergency response systems, expanding access to primary healthcare, embracing digital technologies, and advancing the development of traditional medicine across the SCO community.

Kamal proposed creating a digital health alliance within the SCO to share medical technologies based on big data and artificial intelligence. He also called for infrastructure development, especially in underserved areas.

Russian Deputy Health Minister Oleg Salagai, along with officials from Belarus and Kazakhstan, joined Kamal on the hospital tour. Salagai praised the Chinese government's prioritization of public health.

"What struck me was not only the advanced facilities," Salagai noted while standing near a patient-service coffee kiosk outside the clinic rooms, "but the professional discipline of the medical staff and the seamless management of medical services."

As rotating president of the SCO in 2024-2025, China has designated this year as the "SCO Year of Sustainable Development."

The Russian official noted that the meeting on Monday underscored a shared belief: sustainable development is impossible without robust healthcare systems, accessible to every citizen.

Health partnerships within the SCO are making headway. Since 2022, China has sent medical teams to conduct over 2,100 free cataract surgeries in SCO countries and established blindness prevention centers in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, with another planned in Tajikistan.

Beyond clinical efforts, structural platforms are taking shape. The China-SCO Emergency Medical Center, the SCO Hospital Cooperation Alliance, and the Traditional Medicine Forum are now in place to boost cross-border capacity building.

During the ministerial meeting, Lei Haichao, head of China's National Health Commission, called for greater use of these networks, focusing on emergency preparedness, primary care, digital health, and traditional medicine.

That last theme -- the revival and modernization of traditional medicine -- drew particular interest.

Delegations led by visiting SCO health officials visited the Xi'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a facility officially tapped to anchor the SCO's collaborative research in traditional healing methods. Among them was Askat Dzhakypov, an oriental medicine scholar accompanying Kyrgyzstan's health minister on his China trip.

There, Dzhakypov tried "Baduanjin", a classical Qigong practice rooted in centuries-old traditional Chinese medicine. The slow, flowing movements are designed to stimulate the body's "Qi" -- the vital energy -- and promote physical and mental well-being.

Sweating lightly after the session, Dzhakypov seemed as impressed as he was relaxed. "It's a powerful way to stay healthy. My whole body feels lighter," he said.

Referring to Kyrgyzstan's proposal at the ministerial meeting for a joint medical center with China, he added: "What we hope to learn is how to integrate ancient medical wisdom with modern innovation -- just as China has done." Enditem