A Delegation of Young Scholars from High-end Latin American Think Tanks Visits Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University  (XMCH)

On June 17, a delegation of 19 young scholars from high-level think tanks in Latin American countries — including Cuba, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, and Ecuador —visited Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University (XMCH) to gain an in-depth understanding of Xiamen’s healthcare practices under the Global Development Initiative and to explore cooperation opportunities in the medical and health field between China and Latin America. Professor Wang Yan, President of XMCH, accompanied the visit. Brazilian and Mexican trainees participating in the hospital’s Heart Sapling Visiting Scholar Program took part in on-site exchanges.

During the visit, President. Wang Yan led the foreign guests to tour multiple core areas of the hospital, including the outpatient hall, the medical and technical examination area, the interventional therapy center, the unaccompanied wards, and the helipad. He provided detailed introductions to various aspects of the hospital, including its design planning, functional layout, cutting-edge medical technologies, scientific innovation achievements, and the construction of its emergency response system. In the interventional therapy center, President Wang Yan focused on showcasing examples of the hospital’s experts using world-class interventional techniques to perform precise, minimally invasive treatments for complex cardiovascular diseases. He also introduced the hospital’s practices and achievements in promoting technological innovation and internationalization, such as the collaborative development of domestically produced innovative devices and carrying out the world’s first robot-assisted interventional mitral valve repair. These presentations gave the foreign guests an intuitive and profound understanding of the hospital’s professional medical standards and its cutting-edge research in the cardiovascular field. 

During the visit, President. Wang Yan led the foreign guests to tour multiple core areas of the hospital, including the outpatient hall, the medical and technical examination area, the interventional therapy center, the unaccompanied wards, and the helipad. He provided detailed introductions to various aspects of the hospital, including its design planning, functional layout, cutting-edge medical technologies, scientific innovation achievements, and the construction of its emergency response system. In the interventional therapy center, President Wang Yan focused on showcasing examples of the hospital’s experts using world-class interventional techniques to perform precise, minimally invasive treatments for complex cardiovascular diseases. He also introduced the hospital’s practices and achievements in promoting technological innovation and internationalization, such as the collaborative development of domestically produced innovative devices and carrying out the world’s first robot-assisted interventional mitral valve repair. These presentations gave the foreign guests an intuitive and profound understanding of the hospital’s professional medical standards and its cutting-edge research in the cardiovascular field. 

In addition, President Wang Yan introduced the “Heart Sapling Visiting Scholar Program” (hereinafter referred to as the Heart Sapling Program), an international medical talent training initiative launched by the hospital. This program aims to recruit outstanding young cardiovascular specialists from around the world and provide them with systematic, professional training. It covers diverse content such as theoretical instruction, clinical practice, case discussions, and academic exchanges, helping participants comprehensively enhance their cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment skills and thereby contribute to the improvement of global cardiovascular health. To date, this program has attracted 26 visiting scholars from 12 countries to train in China, providing a solid platform for Sino-foreign medical exchanges. Brazilian trainee Gabriel and Mexican trainees Victor and Oscar each had cordial exchanges with the guests from their respective home countries. 

The Latin American scholars were full of praise for XMCH’s remarkable achievements in the field of cardiovascular medicine. They expressed admiration for the hospital’s advanced medical facilities, superb technical operations, rigorous and efficient processes, and healthcare environment aligned with international standards. They said that this visit gave them a tangible sense of the rapid development of China’s healthcare sector, and also allowed them to see the active outcomes and great potential of Xiamen in implementing the Global Development Initiative and promoting international exchange and cooperation in healthcare. 

Leonel Caraballo Maqueira, Vice President of the “Raúl Roa García” Higher Institute of International Relations of Cuba (Cuban Diplomatic Academy) and head of the visiting delegation, expressed heartfelt thanks on behalf of the group for the valuable training opportunities XMCH has provided to young physicians from Latin American countries. He especially acknowledged the hospital’s  Heart Sapling Program, which has already welcomed cardiovascular doctors from El Salvador, Brazil, Mexico, and other nations, helping them significantly enhance their professional capabilities. He stated:

“We deeply appreciate XMCH’s openness and commitment to advancing international medical cooperation. We hope to foster more talent exchanges and scientific collaborations between Latin American countries and the hospital in the future, working together to address the shared global challenge of cardiovascular disease.”

Many scholars expressed a strong willingness to deepen medical cooperation between China and Latin America. They look forward to fostering close collaborative relationships between relevant institutions in their own countries and XMCH in the future, dispatching professional personnel to participate in the Heart Sapling Program, and strengthening multidimensional exchanges and interactions between the two sides in areas such as cardiovascular discipline development, talent training, and technological innovation. They believe this will take China-Latin America medical cooperation to a higher level, inject new vitality into the development of global health and healthcare, and together contribute to human health and well-being.