QINGDAO - Anti-pandemic cooperation is a major focus at an international health forum in East China.

The second Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia opened in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Wednesday, with more than 2,800 delegates from 40 countries and regions in attendance.

China, consistently placing a high value on the lives and health of its people, has supported global cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, it sufficiently coped with the domestic epidemic situation, said Li Bin, vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The international community should make continuous efforts to enhance the public health system. It should also uphold multilateralism in improving global health governance and make medical and health services fair and accessible, said Li.

COVID-19 has severely threatened people's lives and hindered global economic and social development, said Li Baodong, Secretary General of the Boao Forum for Asia, adding that it takes cooperation and joint efforts of the international community and various circles of society to realize health for all.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said that the novel coronavirus knows no boundaries and that global cooperation and coordination are necessary for tackling the pandemic. He said that China is worth praising for providing its vaccines to developing nations.

Themed "Health Beyond Health," this year's conference focuses on topics such as global governance, multilateralism, and international cooperation in the health-related domain.

The conference was launched by Boao Forum for Asia in 2018, and the first conference took place in Qingdao in 2019.