From June 12 to 14, 2026, the 18th Straits Forum · Health and Sub-Forum was held in Xiamen [1][2]. Over 1,200 medical and health professionals from both sides of the strait attended, including more than 320 people from 22 Taiwanese medical organizations and institutions, with 149 Taiwanese youth [3]. This is the eighth consecutive Health and Sub-Forum held under the Straits Forum framework since 2017 [1].
Over eight years, this platform has grown from a "reception room" for the medical communities of both sides into a "laboratory" – topics have expanded from the initial 6 directions including hospital management and family doctors, to 12 frontier fields including hydrogen-oxygen medicine, smart healthcare, and integrated Chinese and Western medicine [1][4]. At the 2026 sub-forum, a group standard jointly developed by forces from both sides of the strait was officially released, marking the platform's leap from "exchange and dialogue" to "outcome co-creation" [5][6].
In 2017, the Straits Forum established the Health and Sub-Forum for the first time [1]. At that time, exchanges between the medical and health circles on both sides were mostly scattered academic visits. The birth of the Health and Sub-Forum filled the gap of a systematic dialogue platform in this field [7].
Over eight years, this platform has continuously expanded. Wang Liji, President of the Cross-Strait Medical and Health Exchange Association, reflected on the forum's development history: "This sub-forum has over 1,000 participants, more than previous years, especially with more and more young physicians from both sides." He revealed that relying on this platform, approximately 3,000 medical professionals come from Taiwan to the mainland for study and exchange each year [7].
The deepening trajectory of the sub-forum can also be seen from changes in topics. The first sub-forum in 2017 focused on hospital management, graded diagnosis and treatment, and health management, with 6 sub-venues [1]. By 2026, the sub-forum had expanded to 12 special sessions covering frontier fields including hydrogen-oxygen medicine, smart healthcare and AI empowerment, integrated Chinese and Western medicine, maternal-fetal medicine, young physician development, cancer prevention and treatment, biotechnology innovation and hospital pharmacy, nursing practice and technological innovation, thoracic surgery innovation, and the wellness industry [2][4].
Eight years ago, medical professionals from both sides sat together to "get to know each other"; eight years later, they are "researching side by side" across 12 frontier fields – this is the best footnote to the sub-forum's transition from quantitative to qualitative change [7].
Taiwan's participation in this year's sub-forum reached a new high: more than 320 people from 22 Taiwanese medical organizations and institutions attended, with 149 Taiwanese youth [3]. Wang Liji, President of the Cross-Strait Medical and Health Exchange Association, stated that this sub-forum, under the overall framework of the Straits Forum, brings together quality resources from the medical, health, and wellness fields on both sides, explores medical and health technology innovation, and deepens the integrated development of the cross-strait health industry [7].
The most important achievement of this year's sub-forum was the group standard General Specification for Clinical Application of Hydrogen-Oxygen Mixed Gas Inhalation Therapy (T/CRHA316-2026) released at the Hydrogen-Oxygen Medicine Development Special Session [5][6].
The standard was approved by the Chinese Research Hospital Association, led by the National Respiratory Medicine Center, and jointly compiled with Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Shanghai Asclepius Meditec, and more than 20 Grade-A tertiary hospitals nationwide [5]. The Taiwan-invested enterprise Asclepius Meditec, as one of the joint lead drafting units, participated in the formulation of device safety standards and home care-related provisions [6].
Academician Zhong Nanshan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering pointed out at the special session that hydrogen-oxygen medicine is one of the few original, completely independently controllable, and globally leading frontier interdisciplinary medical technologies in China [6]. He emphasized the need to promote hydrogen-oxygen medicine from the experiential exploration stage into a new stage of standardization, scientization, and normalization through unified clinical operation specifications and improved industry standard systems [6]. Regarding device technology routes, the group standard explicitly excludes perfluorosulfonic acid membranes (PEM, also called SPE electrolysis technology) and industrial strong alkaline electrolyte hydrogen production technologies – this means that the "no membrane, no alkali" safety technology route has received formal confirmation at the industry standard level [5][6].
What makes this group standard special is that it is the product of "joint formulation" by forces from both sides [5]. When the sub-forum was first held in 2017, medical professionals from both sides were just "sitting together to exchange ideas"; in 2026, they had become collaborators "jointly drafting a standard" [7].
Zheng Zhe, Vice Minister of the National Health Commission, stated at the opening ceremony that he hoped the medical and health communities on both sides would "build同心 through integration, jointly shoulder the mission of national rejuvenation," "lead the future with innovation, gather strength through youth, and jointly promote high-quality development of health undertakings" [1].
From 2017 to 2026, over eight years, the path of the Health and Sub-Forum is clearly visible: from "getting to know each other" to "working together," from 6 topics to 12 special sessions, from dozens of Taiwanese representatives to 22 organizations with over 320 people, from "exchange and dialogue" to "standard co-construction" [1][3][5].
The release of a group standard may seem like just a technical event, but placed within the eight-year development context of the Health and Sub-Forum, its significance is amplified – it is a concrete and subtle mark of cross-strait health cooperation moving from "quantitative accumulation" to "qualitative improvement" [5][7]. As Wang Liji, President of the Cross-Strait Medical and Health Exchange Association, said: "The meeting ends, but the connections remain; the exchanges are established" [7].
[1] National Health Commission. The 18th Straits Forum – Health and Sub-Forum Successfully Held in Xiamen. 2026-06-14.
[2] Xiamen Net. Technology and Digital Intelligence Empowering, Joining Hands to Promote Health – Straits Forum · Health and Sub-Forum Held. 2026-06-14.
[3] China Taiwan Net. The 18th Straits Forum – Health and Sub-Forum Successfully Held in Xiamen. 2026-06-15.
[4] Cross-Strait Medical and Health Exchange Association. The 18th Straits Forum – Health and Sub-Forum Successfully Held in Xiamen. 2026-06-15.
[5] NetEase (People's Daily Central Kitchen). General Specification for Clinical Application of Hydrogen-Oxygen Mixed Gas Inhalation Therapy Group Standard Released. 2026-06-14.
[6] China Energy Net. Standards First to Promote Orderly Exploration of Chinese Original Technology – Hydrogen-Oxygen Medicine Group Standard Released in Xiamen, Fujian. 2026-06-18.
[7] Health News (reprinted by Fujian Provincial Health Commission). Promoting Cross-Strait Health Exchange and Cooperation to a Higher Level. 2026-06-18.
