The Belt and Road Initiative Global Health International Congress & 2017 Chinese Preventive Medicine Association – Chinese Society on Global Health Annual Meeting was jointly held in Xi’an between 24^th-27^th September 2017 by Chinese Preventive Medicine Association (CPMA) – Chinese Society of Global Health (CSGH) and Health Science Center of Xi'an Jiaotong University. Mr. Feng Yong, Deputy Director General of the International Cooperation Division of National Health and Family Planning Commission, Mr. Yang Weizhong, Vice President and Secretary General of CPMA, Professor Yan Hong, Vice President of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Professor Liu Peilong from School of Public Health, Peking University, Professor Han Tieru, Chairman of CPMA-CSGH, Zoe Mullan, Editor-in-Chief of the Lancet Global Health, UK, Anatoly V. Skalny, a member of advisory board of Federation of European Societies on Trace Elements and Minerals (FESTEM), Professor Tang Shenglan, Director of the Global Health Programs at Duke Kunshan University, and nearly 100 experts attended the meeting with almost 300 representatives in total. The Annual Meeting mainly consisted of the Global Health-related Seminars, Youth Scholar Forums and the CSGH committee meeting.

Three experts gave keynote reports respectively at the Development of Global Health Discipline: Senior Expert Panel. Mr. Yang Hongwei, Deputy Director General of China National Health Research Center, gave the report on the Role of Global Health as a Think Tank; Prof. Ren Ran from Dalian Medical University made the speech on Planning and Development of Chinese Society of Global Health; Prof. Tang Shenglan from Duke Kunshan University Global Health Research Center gave the speech on US Global Health Project: Duke University as an Example.

Han Tieru, President of Chinese Society on Global Health, announced the establishment of Chinese Society on Global Health Youth Committee and convened the plenary meeting of Youth Committee on the evening of 24 September. It was composed of 33 young experts from various levels of CDC and universities. Wang Youfa, Vice President of Chinese Society on Global Health was appointed as President of Youth Committee. Zhao Li, Jiang Hong, Chen Junhu and Cui Fuqiang respectively served as vice president. Xie Zheng, Associate Professor of School of Public Health of Peking University, Jiang Hong, Associate Professor of School of Public Health of Fudan University, and Zhang Shaosen, assistant research fellow of National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, China CDC gave speeches respectively on their studies and work priorities. The young committee members made recommendations on the development of global health personnel during the Panel Discussion including a talent pool establishment, multidisciplinary research and participation, and the continual accumulation of internal experience while actively participating in global health development.

Fig 2: Founding Meeting of Chinese Society on Global Health Youth Committee

The CSGH committee meeting was presided over by Mr. Han Tieru, where the committee members discussed the tasks and challenges of the development of the Global Health Discipline. Participants at the meeting put forward three recommendations about the development plan of Global Health Discipline: 1) make clear the society’s macro mission, purpose, direction, tasks, priorities and other major issues, and at the same time make further annual work plan according to its actual annual capacity, financial resources and needs; 2) the CSGH should actively encourage the establishment of study group in key fields, then CSGH activities will be carried out by study groups so as to promote the full development of disciplines and multi-disciplinary cooperation; 3) together with universities, research institutions, the CSGH can carry out activities in a flexible way.

CSGH Committee members and of the Youth Committee members actively participated in discussion to present recommendations for the future work of the society and the development plan of Global Health Discipline. The meeting aims to build up CSGH into a nationally even globally-influential organization through the joint efforts of all members.

Appendix Introduction of the society

The Chinese Society of Global Health was established in December 2016. It is the first academic association in the global health field in China. It is grown up under the auspices of the China-UK Global Health Support Program (GHSP-OP202). Its main responsibilities are to implement the relevant provisions on foreign affairs and expand cooperation with international health institutions, strengthen bilateral cooperation and strive for more global health resources, and mobilize our global health workers to carry out health promotion and accelerate scientific research and practice in the field of global health, to promote extensive exchanges of results and experience on global health research. The first session of Chinese Society of Global Health includes 69 experts and scholars from universities, research institutes, related enterprises and non-governmental organizations major in health, diplomacy and international relations. The Secretariat located in the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Parasitic Diseases.