30th Anniversary Great Wall International Congress

In October, the American Heart Association participated in the 30th Anniversary Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC) in Beijing, China. GW-ICC is the largest congress of cardiology in the Asia-Pacific region and annually attracts more than 20,000 delegates from over 30 countries. In addition to participating in several joint scientific sessions, the AHA held the 5th annual awards ceremony for the Improving Care for Cardiovascular Disease in China (CCC) Project with the Chinese Society of Cardiology (CSC), presenting 88 awards to participating hospitals.

Additionally, AHA hosted the grand opening of our new Representative Office in Beijing, led by Dr. Robert Harrington, AHA President, Dr. Sidney C. Smith, Jr., Past-President, Dr. Nanette Wenger, Gold Heart Award recipient, and John Meiners, Chief of Mission-aligned Businesses and Healthcare Solutions. “This new office is the culmination of years of collaboration. It represents all the people whose lives have been or will be saved and made better through the work the American Heart Association does with our partners in China,” said Harrington in his opening remarks. The AHA is the first and only foreign healthcare non-governmental organization (NGO) that’s been allowed to open an office in China.

Additionally, the AHA team met with leadership from Fuwai Hospital and signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a joint scientific exchange for basic cardiovascular sciences research and agreed to host a 2020 BCVS-China Symposium. Drs. Harrington, Smith, and Wenger also led a U.S. Embassy-hosted heart health talk, which was livestreamed throughout the region.