Fuwai Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with 13 Indonesian hospitals on Monday, turning a partnership that began with a single institution a decade ago into a network across Indonesia.
The signing ceremony took place at Fuwai Hospital’s main campus in Beijing’s Xicheng district. Hu Shengshou, the hospital’s president and director of the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, signed on behalf of the Chinese side. The Indonesian delegation was led by Azhar Jaya, director general of advanced health services in Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, and included several senior hospital officials.
Fuwai Hospital signed its first five-year MoU with Indonesia’s National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita in 2016, and a second one in 2023.
According to Jaya, cardiovascular care is one of the priority areas in Indonesia’s healthcare transformation. The clinical relationship predates the paperwork. Shu Chang, a professor at Fuwai Hospital’s vascular surgery center, began cooperating with Indonesian surgeons in 2010 and has since presented more than 100 live demonstrations in Indonesia, introducing Chinese-developed aortic repair techniques and devices. In July 2024, he was appointed an adjunct professor at the University of Indonesia, the first Chinese specialist to hold the post.
In August, a team led by Wang Xianqiang, head of adult cardiac surgery at Fuwai Hospital, flew to Jakarta to guide surgeons at the Dr Cipto Mangunkusumo National Central General Hospital in implanting a Corheart-6 left ventricular assist device — a pump that takes over part of the work of a failing heart. It was the first time a Chinese-made LVAD was implanted in Indonesia, and in Southeast Asia.
Under the new MoU, the two sides will focus on training, exchanges of clinical teams, overseas use of Chinese-developed devices such as the LVAD, and cross-border consultation and referral for complex cases. After the ceremony the delegation toured operating rooms and private wards.
Jaya said the agreement would be judged on what follows. “The success of the partnership should be measured not by the number of documents signed, but by the tangible benefits it brings to patients and the community,” he said.
