The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, led a delegation to call on the National Health Commission (NHC), the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM) and the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in Beijing today (September 4) to introduce the latest developments in various healthcare policies in Hong Kong.

     During the meeting with the Commissioner of the NATCM, Professor Yu Yanhong, this morning, Professor Lo introduced her to the latest Chinese medicine (CM) developments in Hong Kong and the formulation of the Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint, which will be released at the end of this year. He said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government attaches great importance to the high-quality and high-standard development of CM on all fronts, and has continued to step up its efforts and devote more resources in recent years to pursue and implement various initiatives. The two flagship institutions for CM development, namely The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong and the permanent premises of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute, with services to be commenced in phases from December this year, will be conducive to Hong Kong's further development in areas such as CM clinical services, talent training, and testing standards."

     He also mentioned that the HKSAR Government will host the 7th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Conference on Inheritance, Innovation and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine in December. Representatives from the two special administrative regions and nine municipalities of the Guangdong Province of the GBA, as well as authoritative Mainland and overseas CM experts and scholars, will gather in Hong Kong for exchanges and to jointly witness various significant milestones in CM development in Hong Kong.

     Professor Lo then met with Vice-Minister of the NHC Professor Cao Xuetao, and mentioned that public hospitals in Hong Kong have been adopting various national healthcare standards for accreditation in recent years. Professor Lo said, "By adopting national healthcare standards for accreditation, healthcare institutions in the HKSAR not only can enhance their healthcare professional standards and service quality but also facilitate their alignment with the national healthcare service system. This can also demonstrate the excellence of the national healthcare standards to the international community through fully leveraging Hong Kong's distinctive advantages of having strong support from the motherland and close connection with the world, thereby facilitating the national standards to go global."

     Following the successful accreditation of two public hospitals, namely Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital, under China's International Hospital Accreditation Standards (2021 Version), the HKSAR Government is promoting the adoption of the Standards for accreditation in more public hospitals under the Hospital Authority (HA). Furthermore, in line with the relevant policy initiatives set out in the Chief Executive's Policy Address, the HA is establishing chest pain centres and stroke centres in accordance with national accreditation standards at suitable public hospitals. Of these, the chest pain centre at Queen Mary Hospital was successfully accredited in May this year, becoming the first nationally accredited chest pain centre in Hong Kong.

     During the meeting, Professor Lo also touched upon co-operation with the Mainland in the field of cancer. He said, "The National Cancer Center has extensive experience in cancer prevention and treatment. Both sides will continue to strive for the goals of 'equally high-calibre technology with the available resources, pooling our talent to strike win-win co-operation', and uphold the principle of 'complementarity and mutual benefits', while deepening and expanding the strategic collaboration to continuously improve the professional standard in cancer prevention and treatment, thereby improving the health and well-being of the people."

     In the afternoon, Professor Lo met with the Commissioner of the NMPA, Mr Li Li, to introduce various key initiatives for developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub. Professor Lo said, "The HKSAR Government is actively preparing for the establishment of the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation (CMPR) next year, and will implement the 'primary evaluation' for new drugs registration in phases starting next year. The establishment of the CMPR will considerably enhance Hong Kong's health and medical innovation, and facilitate the Mainland's innovative drugs and medical devices to go global, benefitting the people of Hong Kong and other regions.

     "At the same time, the HKSAR Government has established the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute and is preparing to establish the Real-World Study and Application Centre in response to the national strategies and policy guidance. The HKSAR Government aspires to collaborate with the GBA cities to jointly establish the GBA as a leading hub for health and medical innovation at both national and global levels, while sparing no effort in developing new quality productive forces, and promoting the development of clinical trials and the biomedical industry, thereby serving the country's needs with Hong Kong's own strengths."

     Members of the delegation include the Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam; Deputy Secretary for Health Mr Eddie Lee; and the Chief Executive of the HA, Dr Libby Lee. Professor Lo will return to Hong Kong tonight. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Cecilia Fan, is the Acting Secretary for Health.

Ends/Thursday, September 4, 2025
Issued at HKT 15:50

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