Agreement Signing Ceremony

Front row, from left: Prof Ewe, Xie Sheng and Prof Bian during the agreement singing ceremony

UTAR, Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine officially signed an agreement pertaining to the China—ASEAN key innovative cooperation projects. The signing ceremony took place on 11 September 2018 at the sixth forum on China—ASEAN Technology Transfer and Collaborative Innovation at Nanning, Guangxi, China which was organised from 11 to 15 September 2018. It is a high-profile forum under the framework of China-ASEAN Expo and it is also one of the significant events in China- ASEAN innovation year.

The agreement signing ceremony

Themed “Innovative Cooperation to Achieve Win-win Development”, the forum served as a platform to exchange good innovative resources between ASEAN and China and boost the construction of China-ASEAN Innovation Community.

During the meeting, UTAR Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine Dean Xie Sheng and HKBU Assoc Vice President for Chinese Medicine Development Prof Bian Zhaoxiang exchanged ideas on treating diseases and health management collaborative innovation and discussed its advantages. Relevant matters related to precision docking cooperation were also discussed. Moreover, discussion on positioning a strong foundation to strengthen the scientific and technological innovation of the hospital and ways to improve its competitiveness in treating diseases and health management were held as well.

Besides promoting the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine’s disease treating model to Hong Kong and ASEAN countries, the agreement also aimed to expand the demand of joint research and the development of Chinese medicine in the major health industry and realise its complementary advantages. Furthermore, it aimed to create a new highlight for the cooperation and development of larger health industries. 

The launching ceremony of China—ASEAN Traditional Medicine

The forum also saw the launching of a book titled “China—ASEAN Traditional Medicine”. It was the first monograph that introduced the traditional medicines from China and ASEAN countries. It has kept track of the traditional medicines commonly used in the eight countries, namely China, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and the Philippines. “Traditional Chinese Medicine Regional Standardization Cooperation Initiative” was also introduced during the event.

“China—ASEAN Traditional Medicine” was first proposed by Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine Prof Deng Jiagang. It received a good response from Khon Kaen University Faculty of Medicine Assoc Prof Jintanaporn Wattanathorn, an expert in the field of Biology, Education and Medicine. Various experts and scholars from Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Philippines assembled to complete the project in five years. They were involved in the literature research, data collection, manuscript compilation and verification, and photo shooting.

On top of that, various forums such as China—ASEAN Science and Technology Parks Innovative Cooperation forum, China-ASEAN Innovative Block Chain Cooperation forum and Traditional Chinese Medicine Innovative Cooperation Matchmaking forum were organised.

Advanced Technology Exhibition of the 15^th China-ASEAN Expo was held from 12 to 15 September 2018. The exhibition saw exhibitors from various fields such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, Smart City, Internet Plus, precision medical technology, electronic, new material and new energy.