Chinese, U.S. veterinarians continue collaboration

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Wang Qingbo, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese VMA, shakes hands with Dr. Douglas G. Aspros, AVMA president, at the Chinese VMA headquarters in Beijing.

“Wherever we live, however we were trained, and whatever our professional roles, we are all brothers and sisters in this great profession.”

So said Dr. Douglas G. Aspros, AVMA president, in remarks at the third annual Chinese Veterinary Conference. The Chinese VMA and China Animal Disease Control Center hosted the conference Oct. 28-30 in Suzhou.

Dr. Aspros said the event attracted nearly 3,000 attendees. The fledgling Chinese VMA now has nearly 3,000 members, he said, while the country has about 42,000 licensed veterinarians.

The conference offered continuing education on companion animal, swine, poultry, bovine, caprine, and aquatic animal medicine as well as traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of various species.

Over the past several years, the Chinese VMA has been consulting with the AVMA on various aspects of organized veterinary medicine. After the recent conference, Dr. Aspros met with Chinese VMA leaders and staff at the association’s headquarters in Beijing.

(China is) still a developing country, but the rate of development is awesome. There are a lot of people, and there’s a lot of need.

Dr. Douglas G. Aspros, AVMA president

Dr. Aspros marveled at the growth in China evident partly from the construction of new buildings.

“It’s still a developing country, but the rate of development is awesome,” he said. “There are a lot of people, and there’s a lot of need.”

Dr. Aspros noted that the major production animals in China are swine, poultry, and aquatic animals. He said pet ownership is increasing in the country, so Chinese veterinarians see a potential for growth in companion animal medicine.

Also during the Chinese Veterinary Conference, officials from Kansas State University and the China Scholarship Council signed a memorandum of understanding on a program to educate Chinese veterinary students in the United States. K-State’s U.S.-China Center for Animal Health coordinated the program with support from other organizations, including the Chinese VMA and AVMA.

Each academic year, up to 10 Chinese students will attend K-State to take preveterinary courses for a year. Then the students will apply for admission to the K-State veterinary college or to partnering veterinary colleges.

“We also are working to send our faculty to China to provide continuing education and to develop better standards of veterinary education in China,” said Jishu Shi, director of the U.S.-China Center for Animal Health.