China–Singapore Disease Control Agencies Hold 2026 Annual Technical Roundtable in Singapore

On September 3, 2026, the second session of the annual technical roundtable between the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) and Communicable Diseases Agency Singapore (CDA) was held in Singapore. Wang Jianwei, Director of China CDC, led a Chinese delegation to the meeting. He was joined by Pek Wee Yang, Deputy Director of CDA, and more than 20 technical staff from both sides. The two sides held in-depth exchanges on two core topics: “One Health” governance and emergency response capacity building.

In his remarks, China CDC Director Wang Jianwei said infectious diseases know no borders, and public health cooperation should likewise transcend borders to jointly address these threats. As the disease control agencies of China and Singapore met again to discuss global health issues and build consensus on cooperation, their renewed engagement was a vivid example of building a global community of health for all.

Deputy Director Pek Wee Yang said that since the two sides signed a memorandum of cooperation in 2024, they have carried out multiple rounds of personnel exchanges and technical discussions in areas including infectious disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, and field epidemiology training, laying a solid foundation for cooperation. He noted that the Technical Roundtable is an important initiative to promote open and pragmatic experience-sharing, and expressed hope for continued efforts to deepen cooperation with China in addressing regional and global health security challenges.

At the roundtable, the Chinese side gave a systematic overview of China’s progress in building a rule-of-law framework for “One Health”; cross-sectoral coordination mechanisms and their implementation; practices and results in the control of major infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR); the development of AMR surveillance networks; and typical outcomes of wastewater-based surveillance in AMR monitoring and public health governance. On emergency response workforce development, it highlighted the legal safeguards for building public health emergency teams, a four-tier, multi-disciplinary emergency workforce structure, and tiered, category-based training alongside scenario-based drills.

The Singapore side gave a detailed overview of its cross-sectoral “One Health” governance framework, strategic planning, and key case studies; shared progress in building its AMR prevention and control system; and outlined its experience with the “Whole-of-Government” crisis-governance framework, guiding principles for pandemic preparedness and response, modular and scalable response systems, and progressive exercise programs.

The two sides also held in-depth discussions on cross-sectoral AMR surveillance data collection and sharing, activation and response to early-warning signals from multiple channels, the establishment and operationalization of surveillance and early-warning centers, operational models for field epidemiology training programs, and practical experience from no-notice exercises. They fully exchanged views and agreed on follow-up cooperation in areas such as “One Health”,  joint exercises, and personnel exchanges.

As agreed by the two sides, the third Technical Roundtable will be held in China in 2027.

 Wang Jianwei (fourth from left) and Pek Wee Yang (fifth from left) pose for a photo with some participating experts