On 26-28 March 2015, the 5th International Roundtable on China-Africa Collaboration, co-hosted by the Tsinghua University Research Center for Public Health and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products (CCCMHPIE), was held in Beijing. Focused on “A universal coverage of health care and high quality, accessible essential commodities, medicines and vaccines”, the roundtable passed the official Beijing Policy Recommendations 2015, which pointed out that collaboration between China and African governments, as well as with international organizations, civil society and the private sector, should be strengthened through dialogue and knowledge exchange .
 

Ren Minghui, Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the PRC, hosted the opening ceremony. Ren mentioned that the health corporation between China-Africa has a very long history. Since China sent the first foreign aid medical team to Africa in 1963, it has sent more than 20 thousand volunteers to 45 countries and regions in Africa and treated about 230 million people till now. From 2014, China has given unprecedented health assistance to help African countries to fight Ebola.
 

Ren said that in the future, China will continuously send medical workers to Africa to help them fight Ebola, aiming to realize the goal of “Zero report, no outbreak”. And at the same time, China is willing to aid Africa to enhance its ability of disease surveillance and detection and make new contributions for the global heath security.
Discussions at the three-day roundtable focused on the following 5 topics respectively: how China-Africa health cooperation could be strengthened around Universal Health Coverage (UHC); high-quality, accessible essential commodities, medicines and vaccines; the role of traditional medicines in the process of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the importance of enterprises in promoting a the UHC. 
 

More than 350 representatives from China, Africa and International organizations participated in this discussion. Participating Chinese agencies included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (SATCM) and China-Africa Development Fund (CADF). African participants included representatives from the African Union and its regional bodies, the African Academy of Sciences, national health ministries and professional organizations. Participants from international organizations included representatives from the WHO, UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNIDO, USAID, DFID, the Global Fund, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Gavi and the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation.
 

The roundtable has been successfully held for 4 sessions and draws high attention from all the participating parties. On May, 2013, the 4th International Roundtable was held in Gabborone, capital of Botswana, during which participants emphatically discussed how to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in reproductive health, maternal and children health care, malaria, prevention and control of schistosomiasis, vaccine and immunization and made institutional arrangements for the China-Africa health collaboration through Gaborone Gazette.