Undertaking more international responsibilities and obligations is the mainline and soul of China's diplomacy. In 1956, Mao Zedong stated in his article "Commemorating Mr. Sun Yat sen" that China is a country with 9.6 million square kilometers of land and a population of 60000 people, and should make significant contributions to humanity.   With the continuous enhancement of national strength, China will undertake more international responsibilities and obligations within its capabilities, and make greater contributions to human peace and development.

Public health diplomacy embodies the humanitarian spirit and is a concrete manifestation of the Chinese government's assumption of more international responsibilities and obligations. With the frequent occurrence of global public health crises, public health issues have increasingly become an explicit agenda in international relations and gradually entered the field of foreign policy. As early as the 1996 World Health Report, the World Health Organization pointed out that we are on the brink of a global crisis of infectious diseases, and no country can be spared from it, nor can any country rest assured about it. On November 26, 2008, the 63rd United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 33 on Global Health and Foreign Policy, which first used the concept of "global health diplomacy". The resolution emphasizes that global health is also a long-term goal at the national, regional, and international levels, requiring continuous attention and commitment, as well as strengthening international cooperation, rather than limited to emergency situations.

The Course of China's Public Health Diplomacy

Public health diplomacy refers to the use of health work to achieve foreign policy goals, as well as the use of foreign policies to achieve health goals. International cooperation in the field of health development is an important component of China's foreign policy on public health, and this practice has several important historical nodes.

Firstly, the foreign aid medical team is the starting point of China's public health diplomacy. In 1963, according to Zhou Enlai's instructions, the Chinese government was invited to dispatch the First Support Foreign Medical Team to Algeria, marking the beginning of China's public health diplomacy. On April 6, 1963, 24 medical team members selected from excellent doctors in Beijing, Shanghai, and other places rushed to Algeria. They braved hardship and helped the wounded in the harsh environment. As of November 2019, from the first batch of 24 people to 26000 people, they have traveled to 71 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Oceania, with a total of about 280 million patients diagnosed and treated. Among them, about 2000 people have received various national honors such as the Presidential Medal issued by the recipient government, and 51 team members have sacrificed their lives in foreign countries due to work.   The foreign aid medical team has become a business card for China's public health diplomacy and the responsibility of a major country.

Secondly, combating SARS promotes the reform of China's public health and epidemic prevention system and strengthens international cooperation. The spread of the SARS epidemic in 2003 exposed issues such as inadequate mechanisms for responding to public health emergencies, weak sensitivity of the health sector, and insufficient emergency response capabilities in China. It was also recognized that expanding openness and strengthening international cooperation are important means to achieve victory. After achieving victory in the fight against the SARS epidemic, we have further strengthened our friendly cooperation with the World Health Organization and some countries, and intensified efforts to address shortcomings in related fields. Documents such as the "Emergency Regulations for Public Health Emergencies" and the "National Overall Emergency Plan for Public Health Emergencies" have been successively introduced. On November 9, 2006, former Director of the Hong Kong Department of Health, Margaret Chan, was successfully elected as the Director General of the World Health Organization through a closed door review, marking the first time that a Chinese person has held the highest position in a United Nations agency.

Thirdly, aiding Africa and resisting Egypt is the largest foreign aid operation in China's health sector. The Ebola virus was first discovered in Africa in 1976 and has caused dozens of outbreaks of various sizes, all of which are characterized by geographical limitations, small scale, and short duration. In March 2014, the Ebola hemorrhagic fever epidemic was discovered and confirmed in Guinea, and spread to neighboring African countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone. Cases also occurred in European and American countries such as the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom, presenting a global trend of spread. On August 8, 2014, the World Health Organization declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern. On September 19th, the United Nations launched its first emergency response to a public health event in history. The Chinese government has promptly extended a helping hand to epidemic stricken countries in West Africa, sending over 1200 clinical and public health experts to aid Africa in a systematic manner. This is the largest, longest lasting, and widest work coverage in the history of public health aid in China.

Fourth, the fight against the COVID-19 has brought China's public health diplomacy to a new stage of global health governance. The severity of the COVID-19 has made countries realize that public health is not only a domestic problem of a sovereign country, or a problem of its foreign policy, but also a typical global health governance problem. No country, no matter how powerful, wealthy, or technologically advanced, can independently detect and respond to all public health threats, thus requiring efficient international cooperation and coordination. The COVID-19 came as a surprise. China first shared the whole gene sequence information of the virus to the world, shared the epidemic prevention and control and diagnosis and treatment plans with 180 countries and more than 10 international and regional organizations, held expert video conferences with more than 100 countries and international organizations, and sent medical expert teams to many countries. In the future, China will further strengthen its top-level design capabilities to promote international health cooperation and provide more high-quality public goods.

The Distinctive Characteristics of China's Public Health Diplomacy

Compared with other European and American countries, although China's public health diplomacy started relatively late, it has distinct characteristics.

Firstly, China's public health diplomacy serves both national interests and the common interests of the international community. The first International Health Assembly was held in Paris in 1851 to discuss cooperation in establishing epidemic prevention zones, marking the beginning of modern public health diplomacy and international cooperation. But at that time, European countries held frequent international conferences to address their own outbreaks such as cholera, and showed no interest in other regional epidemics such as yellow fever in the Americas. Experts point out that although modern public health is often characterized as a humanitarian action, it has long been linked to the needs of international trade in the United States and other developed Western countries. However, for China, on a global scale, whenever there is a sudden public health event, there is China's assistance. For example, the medical security tasks of United Nations peacekeeping operations are typical of hard work, tiring work, and dirty work. Since the dispatch of the first peacekeeping medical team to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002, the busy figure of Chinese peacekeeping medical personnel can be seen in the war-torn and barren United Nations mission area.

Secondly, China's public health diplomacy emphasizes overall coordination, innovation, and effectiveness. In May 2012, Chen Zhu, then Minister of Health, was invited by the Geneva Institute of Higher Studies in Switzerland to publish an article titled "China's Health Diplomacy" in the special issue of Global Health 2012, emphasizing that China's health development cooperation includes dispatching medical teams, building hospitals, establishing malaria prevention and control centers, training health technology and management personnel, providing drugs and medical supplies, and supporting international organizations such as the World Health Organization United Nations agencies such as the United Nations Programme on AIDS and new global health initiatives such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria have made positive contributions to improving the global health situation. Taking the "Peace Ark" listed in 2008 as an example, this is China's first large-scale professional hospital ship with a tonnage of 10000 tons, and it is an innovative practice of China's public health diplomacy. Every time in a country, the "Peace Ark" hospital ship not only uses the main platform to diagnose and treat local people, but also sends multiple medical teams to local hospitals, schools, communities, military camps, islands, etc., to provide medical treatment for more people. As of the end of 2019, the "Ark of Peace" has traveled abroad 9 times, sailing over 240000 nautical miles and visiting 43 countries and regions; We provide humanitarian medical services to over 230000 people, perform over 1400 surgeries, and bring more than 500 cataract patients back to light. We are known as the ships of peace, life, and friendship.

Thirdly, China's public health diplomacy emphasizes international cooperation, emphasizes multilateralism, and upholds the authority of the World Health Organization. Firstly, China is one of the important initiators of the World Health Organization. From April 25 to June 26, 1945, the United Nations Charter passed at the United Nations founding conference in San Francisco did not mention anything about health work or the establishment of an international health agency. The "Declaration on the Establishment of an International Health Organization" submitted by the representatives of China and Brazil laid the foundation for the creation of the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for health affairs, established with the original intention of improving global health governance and helping countries around the world respond to public health security challenges. After the outbreak of the COVID-19, the United States openly questioned the role of WHO and proposed to suspend funding for the organization. China supported WHO in carrying out international cooperation in combating the COVID-19, helping developing countries improve their ability to respond to the epidemic and strengthening the construction of public health systems. China firmly supports the leadership role of the World Health Organization in responding to public health crises by supporting the United Nations and the post World War II world health order centered on multilateralism.

Fourthly, China's public health diplomacy is guided by advanced concepts, in accordance with international legal norms, and in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. On February 18, 1964, during Zhou Enlai's visit to 14 countries in Asia and Africa, he proposed the Eight Principles of Foreign Aid, emphasizing that the Chinese government has always provided assistance to foreign countries based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit; Strictly abide by the sovereignty of the recipient country and never attach any conditions or require any privileges; Experts dispatched by China enjoy the same material treatment as their own experts from the recipient country, and no special requirements or benefits are allowed. Western countries often attach political conditions to aid in order to influence and change the development process and political direction of recipient countries. However, China has always adhered to the principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and has always upheld the equal status of donor and recipient countries. It is a relationship between friends and partners, not between teachers and students. Today, the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind and a community of health and wellness continues to deepen and improve, becoming the guiding principle of China's public health diplomacy. The concept of community emphasizes that there is me in you and you in me. It emphasizes that one side has difficulties and all sides support each other, emphasizes traveling together and borrowing strength from each other, and emphasizes watching and helping each other to overcome difficulties together.

Fifth, China's public health diplomacy highlights the cultural power of the Chinese nation. To some extent, by understanding a country's culture and history, one can understand its foreign policy, and what kind of cultural heritage it has will present what kind of diplomatic style. The Chinese nation is a nation that values morality and righteousness. As we believe in people, we become more and more virtuous; As we interact with others, we become more numerous. Empathizing with righteousness and prioritizing righteousness before profit has been a moral principle and code of conduct that has been upheld by the Chinese nation for thousands of years. In addition to cultural concepts, the Chinese nation has many cultural resources, such as traditional Chinese medicine such as artemisinin. Since 2008, China has established 30 malaria prevention and control centers for African countries and provided artemisinin based antimalarial drugs worth 190 million yuan. Artemisinin extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine Artemisia annua is considered by the World Health Organization to be the "only effective malaria treatment drug in the world". In 2018, China assisted in building the first tropical infectious disease prevention and control center in Sierra Leone to enhance the independent public health prevention and control capabilities of African countries. On July 4, 2019, the Atlantic Monthly of the United States published an article titled "The Next Steps in Anti Malaria in Africa: China is at the forefront", pointing out that China's cooperation in the fields of science and public health in Africa can demonstrate to the world that China brings more than just infrastructure such as roads and railways to Africa. With the help of Chinese experts, the incidence rate of malaria in the Comoros, an African island country, has dropped significantly and achieved "zero death".

Public health diplomacy has become a banner of China's diplomacy as a major country with Chinese characteristics. In the future, China will actively participate in the research and negotiation of international standards and norms in health-related fields, improve the emergency foreign aid mechanism for China's participation in international major public health emergencies, and enhance its voice and shaping power in the field of international public health cooperation.

Source: Learning Times