(Front row, from left) Party Secretary and Director of the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, Zhu Hong; Hong Kong’s Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau; Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Dr Peter Lam; Chief Executive John Lee attended the Asia Summit on Global Health today (May 17); Party Group Member of the National Health Commission cum Party Secretary of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Prof Yu Yanhong; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Yin Zonghua; Executive Director of the HKTDC, Margaret Fong, and other guests attend the Asia Summit on Global Health, May 17, 2-23. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKSAR GOVT)

HONG KONG – The third Asia Summit on Global Health kicked off in Hong Kong on Wednesday, bringing together experts and industry people worldwide to discuss the latest developments and future opportunities in public health, medical technology, and healthcare investment.

The two-day summit themed "Reimagining the Future of Healthcare" was co-organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of the HKSAR, said at the opening ceremony that the national 14th Five-Year Plan supports Hong Kong's development as an international innovation and technology (I&T) hub, emphasizing such emerging disciplines in the country as life and health sciences.

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Hong Kong will capitalize on its growing connectivity within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, he said.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu speaks at the Asia Summit on Global Health in Hong Kong on May 17, 2023. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKSAR GOVT)

The city will work together with R&D and I&T institutions, businesses and professionals to build a more resilient and sustainable global health system, said the CE.

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Yu Yanhong, Party chief of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said at the summit that Hong Kong has the unique advantages of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world. In recent years, it has kept innovating and developing in medical and health care.

Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, delivers a speech at the "Plenary Session: Reimagining the Future of Healthcare" of the Asia Summit on Global Health, May 17, 2023. (PHOTO COURTESY OF HKSAR GOVT)

Yu expressed hope that medical and health communities and enterprises from Asian countries and regions will seek common development, and strengthen cooperation in areas including innovation and application of medical science and technology and clinical practices, to inject new momentum into the high-quality development of the health sector.