Chinese medical team, Malta sign strategic cooperation memorandum

VALLETTA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- The China Medical Team to Malta and Malta's Ministry for Health and Active Ageing signed a strategic cooperation memorandum on Monday, establishing a long-term partnership in healthcare and laying a foundation for closer cooperation in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

The cooperation will focus on elderly healthcare and community medical services. Under the memorandum, the Chinese medical team will provide regular health education, free medical consultations and TCM cultural activities at 53 Active Ageing Centers across Malta.

The team will also promote TCM practices including acupuncture, tuina, Gua Sha and pulse diagnosis.

Steve Agius, CEO of Active Ageing and Community Centers, expressed appreciation for the medical team's sustained supports over the past year, saying its free medical services and health education had helped improve residents' health awareness and contributed to elderly healthcare in Malta.

Following the signing, Zhang Xiusheng, director of the Chinese medical team to Malta, gave a public lecture on acupuncture and led local residents in practicing Baduanjin, a traditional Chinese exercise.

The team also provided free health consultations and TCM services, including cupping and tuina. An 80-year-old local resident, Azzopardi, said the treatment significantly eased his long-standing lower back pain and expressed hope for more opportunities to experience TCM services.

Zhang said the memorandum and medical outreach were concrete efforts to bring TCM to local communities and promote people-to-people exchanges between China and Malta. The team will continue to make TCM services more accessible to communities across Malta, he said.