China’s Vice-Minister of Health welcomes Australian collaborations

13 August 2008

The Vice Minister of Health for the People’s Republic of China, Dr Jiefu Huang, has welcomed greater health collaborations between China and Australia. Speaking at a public lecture at the University of Sydney, he said there was considerable scope for China-Australia co-operation in health, including research alliances, joint funding of projects, transfer of knowledge, education, and development of new treatments and products.

Vice Minister Huang has a strong connection with the University of Sydney. A respected surgeon in China, he undertook three-years of post-graduate surgical training in transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Westmead Hospital Clinical Schools under the direction of Professors AGR Sheil and Miles Little.

In his address, he delivered a frank and fascinating account of the challenges in developing and operating a modern health care system for the massive Chinese population.

Aside from the public lecture, his visit included a meeting with Faculties of Health staff where they had the opportunity to brief him on their existing collaborations with Chinese universities and the research being undertaken in relation to herbal medicine, non-communicable disease and injury prevention, tobacco control and health informatics. He also took time to meet old colleagues and friends at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

In recognition of his considerable achievements and long-term ties, the Faculty of Medicine awarded him an Honorary Professorship. The citation was read by friend and former colleague Professor Richard Allen, Head of Transplantation Services at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Professor of Transplant Medicine.