POLICY AND PRACTICE REVIEWS article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Policy
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1676960
A Decade of China's Health Silk Road: Policy Review for Global Health Governance and SDG Partnerships
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
- 2Guanghua Law School, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- 3Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing, China
- 4Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou, China
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The tenth anniversary of China's Health Silk Road (HSR) offers a timely opportunity to review its contributions and challenges in advancing global health governance and international public health cooperation. As an important health-related global public goods (GPGs), the HSR has sought to promote equitable access to health resources, reduce disparities among partner countries, and strengthen international collaboration in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This policy and practice review critically analyzes the governance structure, policy mechanisms, and implementation experiences of the HSR, drawing on policy documents, international organization reports, and comparative case analysis. The review identifies key challenges, including regulatory fragmentation, inconsistent recognition of medical qualifications, and varying standards for health practices across diverse cultural and political contexts. It highlights the need for more transparent, inclusive, and rule-based governance frameworks that foster mutual trust and integration of non-state actors. The paper offers policy recommendations to strengthen cross-border cooperation, promote mutual learning, and deepen international partnerships, aiming to inform the future development of more transparent, inclusive, and rule-based global health governance rooted in diverse regional experiences.
Keywords: China, Health Silk Road, Health diplomacy, Right to health, sustainable development, Global health governance
Received: 31 Jul 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Huang, Lassi and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Nicholas Lassi, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Chongqing, China
Xiaohan Zhang, Hangzhou City University, Hangzhou, China
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