The second Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia opened on June 2, and Zhou Xiaochuan, vice chairman of Boao Forum for Asia, delivered a speech at the opening plenary.

Zhou Xiaochuan, Vice Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia

Here the full text of the speech by Vice Chairman Zhou Xiaochuan:

It is a great pleasure to attend the second Global Health Forum in Qingdao, which is jointly hosted by Boao Forum for Asia and Shandong Provincial Government.

At present, the Covid-19 epidemic is still spreading around the world, the virus mutation intensifies the difficulty of prevention and control, and more than 3.4 million people worldwide have lost their lives. Many countries accelerate vaccination and adopt large-scale economic stimulus policies, to boost the world economy. However, the global divergence in vaccination and economic recovery is still growing, and people's lives and health and sustainable recovery around the world are facing major threats and challenges.

Recently, a number of major international conferences such as the Global Health Summit and the World Health Assembly have been held, and G20 leaders, along with leaders of many other countries, have proposed to strengthen collective action to ensure rapid, safe and equitable global access to vaccines, strengthen health measures, and promote strong, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. At the Global Health Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping, called on G20 members to shoulder their responsibilities in global cooperation against the epidemic, put forward five insistencies and announced five major initiatives, reflecting China's determination and action to treat vaccines as a global public product, continue to support global solidarity against the epidemic, and promote the building of a human health and wellness community. The convening of the Second Global Health Forum is an important action to support global solidarity in fighting the epidemic and promoting sustainable economic recovery.

The epidemic has brought us many important insights. First, scientific and technological development and innovation are powerful tools for health care development. It is by relying on the active investment and courage of many countries in virus sequencing, drug treatment, vaccine research and development that the world was able to obtain vaccines and effective drugs in a short period of time; it is by relying on big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other technical means that countries can carry out epidemic surveillance and analysis, medical treatment, drug research and development, and epidemic prevention and control. Second, "Health for All" is an important element and guarantee of sustainable development. The epidemic has made all countries realize that "the world can only be safe if all people are safe", and they must make great efforts to fill the healthcare infrastructure gap, especially to strengthen the care for vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children, so that everyone can receive basic medical services,. Third, global cooperation in public health governance is the only way to address the global health crisis. The epidemic, as a major test, highlights the global governance deficit, and it is more urgent than ever to ensure vaccine equity and affordability, the resilience of health equipment and product supply chains and smooth trade flows.

As a high-end platform for politics, business and academia based in Asia with a global outlook, Boao Forum for Asia has been committed to strengthening economic exchanges and cooperation among Asia, emerging economies and other regions of the world, and to promoting free trade and multilateralism, playing an active role in building consensus in Asia, promoting cooperation among all parties, advancing economic globalization and building a community of human destiny. As a cornerstone of economic and social development, health issues are crucial to promoting common progress and development worldwide. For this reason, the Boao Forum for Asia Council attaches great importance to the study of health issues and established the Global Health Forum in 2018. We will give full play to its own characteristics and make full use of the platform of the Global Health Forum to offer solutions, promote the resolution of world health issues and realize the World Health Organization's goal of "Health for All".