On 17-19 May 2017, 2nd China-U.S. Workshop on the Challenges of Emerging Infections, Laboratory Safety and Global Health Security was co-organized by U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), CAS and Hubei Society for Microbiology. More than 100 experts from China, the United States, Pakistan and the Republic of Kenya attended the workshop.

The opening ceremony was chair by Prof. Zhiming Yuan, the Director of Wuhan National Biosafety Level 4 (P4) Laboratory. Prof. Xinwen Chen, the Director General of WIV, delivered the opening address, in which he pointed out that as a qualified academic exchange activity, this workshop will definitely put forward new ideas for the research on emerging viral diseases control, biosafety laboratory and global health security. The workshop is divided into five academic sessions, including (1) gain of function research, gene editing, targeting and delivery and other novel biotechnology; (2) public health response to outbreaks and issues; (3) emerging infectious diseases and global health security; (4) high-level biosafety laboratory: construction, commissioning, and sustainment, and (5) biosafety, biosecurity and bioethics. Experts delivered 23 speeches in the workshop, and mainly discussed policies in response to emerging infectious diseases. Prof. Linda Saif (academician) from Ohio State University, Prof. David Relman (academician) from Stanford University, Prof. James LeDuc, the Director of Galveston National Laboratory, and Prof. George F. Gao (academician) from Institute of Microbiology, CAS attended the workshop as special guests.

The 2nd China-U.S. Workshop on the Challenges of Emerging Infections, Laboratory Safety and Global Health Security belongs to the serial meetings jointly initiated by China and the United States. By gathering extraordinary reports on scientific and technological achievements, and discussing the current development on related studies, the participants from China and the United States can communicate and get further understanding regarding new issues that occur in field of global health biosafety. Under this condition, this workshop aims at utilizing the advantages of China-U.S. cooperation and collaboration for responding to emerging infectious diseases more positively and guarantee laboratory and global health biosafety, so as to make more contributions to the medical industry and human health.