About 30 Chinese officials from health and foreign affairs departments started a five-day special diplomatic training on Monday to better coordinate with the international community during medical crises.

The officials will be trained for improved abilities in diplomatic work, research work and management of international health cooperation projects, so as to promote China's effective involvement in global health issues.

They will receive lectures on global health threats and simulate negotiations with foreign counterparts on global health issues.

"With increasing global health threats in the new century, such as SARS, bird flu and A/H1N1 influenza, many health problems are more than just medical issues and seriously affect national security and economic growth," said Huang Jiefu, vice Chinese health minister.

To deal with so many health problems, officials and scholars with both diplomatic and health knowledge are needed to coordinate global health issues through diplomatic channels, he said.

The training course, sponsored by China's Ministry of Health and Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, is jointly organized by scholars from Peking University and Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies.

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2009)