Chinese University of Hong Kong plans Guangdong academic centres to boost medical research

Proposed centres at Qianhai and Nansha will help to meet Hongkongers’ rising demand for medical care

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The Chinese University of Hong Kong aims to contribute to the development of the medical research ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 7:00am, 15 Jul 2024Updated: 11:42am, 15 Jul 2024

The medical school at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) plans to open academic centres in two Guangdong province cities, paving the way for more clinical trials and boosting the Greater Bay Area’s innovation network.

The school will work with mainland Chinese authorities and hospitals in Qianhai, which is part of Shenzhen, and Nansha in Guangzhou to help meet Hongkongers’ rising demand for medical care and collaborate with experts over the border in scientific development.

Professor Justin Wu Che-yuen, an associate dean, said CUHK had noticed a rising number of Hongkongers heading across the border for medical services, and that the university hoped to introduce advanced medical technologies from the mainland to the city.

“Hong Kong has its limitations. At the same time, neighbouring places such as Southeast Asia … and the mainland have made significant improvements in medical innovation,” Wu said in an interview last week.

The number of Hong Kong patients going over the border for faster, cheaper healthcare services has surged since Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions were lifted last year.

Wu said there was a need to expand contact between the two sides and develop the medical research ecosystem in the bay area, which links Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong.