Li calls for global health cooperation

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday said promoting health is the responsibility of all people, and countries should work together to facilitate communication and cooperation to promote global health.

Li made the remarks during a speech in Shanghai at the opening ceremony of the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion ( GCHP).

China has taken an active role in pushing forward global health, and it will continue to honor its international obligations, Li said. He added that in the past 50 years China has sent 20,000 medical workers to 67 countries and regions, treating more than 260 million people.

Margaret Chan, World Health Organization ( WHO) director- general, spoke highly of Shanghai’s effective antitobacco measures and called on China, which is home to a third of the world’s smokers, to intensify its anti- smoking campaign.

China has set its health goals for 2030, which include an average life expectancy of 79 years, effective control of key health risk factors and to significantly expand its healthcare industry, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The conference in Shanghai is jointly organized by China and the WHO, and will end on Thursday.

More than 1,050 delegates from governments, international organizations and the healthcare industry have gathered to further implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.