XI'AN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Telehealth, powered by advances in information technology, came into sharp focus on Sunday as health leaders gathered in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to discuss hospital collaboration among member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The seventh SCO Hospital Cooperation Conference, held in the lead-up to the eighth SCO Health Ministers' Meeting on Monday, brought together more than 100 representatives from government health authorities, medical associations, and healthcare institutions.

Attendees called for greater efforts to harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and other technological advances to strengthen telemedicine and smart healthcare services across SCO member states, in support of the broader goal of building a shared health community within the organization.

Geographic barriers remain among the greatest challenges to healthcare provision in many SCO member states, where vast territories and low population densities often hinder access to medical services. This reality underscores the critical role of telemedicine in bridging health gaps, said Muhammad Ashraf Nizami, president of the Pakistan Medical Association (Lahore).

Nizami praised China's leadership in developing domestic telehealth systems and its efforts to share expertise and resources with SCO member countries, including Pakistan.

A highlight of the conference was the signing of a tripartite cooperation agreement among Tianjin First Central Hospital, the Management Office of the Tianjin Medical Association, and Nizami's organization. The agreement aims to deepen public health cooperation in telemedicine and related fields.

Wang Xudong, head of the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission, hailed the agreement as a new chapter in healthcare collaboration between Tianjin and SCO countries. "We are confident that this new partnership will produce transferable best practices for broader cooperation in the future," the official said.

Wang also said that Tianjin, which will host an SCO summit this autumn, is aligning its policies and institutional frameworks to support comprehensive healthcare partnerships across the organization.

"We are spearheading the development of replicable models for cross-border healthcare, integrating telemedicine into clinical practice, traditional medicine systems, and public health management," he said.

The conference also witnessed the signing of four additional cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between Chinese hospitals and universities and their counterparts in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

Kanat Zhumanov, from the University Medical Center of Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, told Xinhua that Kazakhstan is eager to learn from China's experience in integrating AI applications, telemedicine services, and robotic technologies into medical practice.

The University Medical Center of Nazarbayev University signed an MoU with the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University to collaborate on research, clinical knowledge-sharing, and healthcare workforce development, with a focus on oncology, chronic disease management, and maternal and child health.

These agreements mark another milestone for the SCO Hospital Cooperation Alliance, which was founded in 2018 as a collaborative platform among member hospitals.

The alliance now counts 134 hospitals among its members -- 100 from China and 34 from eight other SCO countries. Through events like Sunday's conference, remote exchanges, specialized collaborations, and professional networking, the alliance has fostered strong partnerships in healthcare under the SCO framework.

According to Liu Qian, president of the Chinese Hospital Association -- a key architect of the alliance -- future priorities for the alliance include strengthening telemedicine infrastructure, expanding specialized networks, and launching talent development programs to diversify cooperation.

"The collaborative spirit I witnessed here today is truly inspiring," said Zhumanov. "Our partnership promises real-world impact far beyond what is written in these agreements."■