China will cooperate with Johnson & Johnson of the United States to upgrade the quality of its pharmaceutical personnel with a nationwide training program to be carried out in the next five years.
That's according to an agreement signed between Chinese pharmaceutical authorities and the US pharmaceutical giant in Beijing.
The Ministry of Health and the State Drug Administration signed a "strategic partnership" pact with Johnson & Johnson Sunday to initiate China's largest non-governmental financed pharmaceutical cooperative program for the 2001-05 period.
Under the terms of the agreement, the American company will donate 50 million yuan (US$6 million) over five years to help the Chinese government upgrade its training of personnel in medical and health care and provide a consulting service for policy-making in these sectors.
A similar project was launched in Beijing in May 1995, the first phase of the program, and was considered very successful in the 1995-2000 period.
Then, Johnson & Johnson donated 50 million yuan (US$6 million), covering more than 50 projects nationwide.
"The second five-year program is aimed at training management personnel and research," said Ralph S. Larsen, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson.
The State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs and the Association of Volunteers of America also honored Larsen Sunday with the "Marco Polo Award" for his contributions to China's pharmaceutical development.
"Winning the Marco Polo Award is an honor for Johnson & Johnson and Ralph S. Larsen and is also a symbol of China and the US walking into the new century hand in hand and of the good friendship between the two countries," said Wan Xueyuan, director of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs.
The US firm has seven companies in China with 2,400 employees. Its products cover the pharmaceutical, consumer and professional medical products fields.
(China Daily 10/10/2000)
