2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the dispatch of Chinese Medical Teams (CMTs) to Samoa. Since 1986, China has sent 24 medical teams to Samoa, bringing together over 140 medical experts across nearly 20 disciplines—including internal medicine, general surgery, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), critical care medicine, and diagnostic imaging. For four decades, these dedicated professionals have stood shoulder to shoulder with their Samoan counterparts, delivering quality medical services, sharing advanced expertise, and nurturing enduring people-to-people bonds.

Over the past 40 years, the CMTs in Samoa have embodied the spirit of China’s foreign aid medical teams—“Fearlessness of hardship, willingness to sacrifice, devotion to patients, and boundless love”—as advocated by President Xi Jinping. Rooted in Samoa’s national conditions and healthcare needs, the teams have made tangible contributions to strengthening the country’s medical system and advancing China-Samoa friendship.

Based primarily at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole (TTM) Hospital, the national referral centre of Samoa, the CMTs have fulfilled their mission with unwavering responsibility and professionalism, providing more than 210,000 patient consultations to date. To address gaps in local healthcare capacity, they have helped refine clinical diagnosis and treatment pathways, and delivered targeted training and clinical optimisation across key fields such as cardiology, critical care, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and radiology.

Beyond hospital walls, the CMTs have taken medical care to the grassroots, conducting over 100 free medical services in remote communities, schools, and villages, serving nearly 10,000 underserved Samoans. In times of crisis—including devastating cyclones, measles outbreaks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and dengue fever surges—the teams have remained steadfast at their posts, working hand in hand with local medical staff to contain risks and safeguard the health and well-being of the Samoan people, earning widespread respect and gratitude from the Samoan government and public.

Since assuming my diplomatic post in January 2024, I have closely collaborated with the 26 members of the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th CMTs in Samoa. Whether at community clinics, mobile health outreach events, or in daily interactions with Samoan officials, healthcare workers, and residents, I have consistently witnessed the CMTs’ exemplary clinical skills, noble professional ethics, and heartfelt friendship with the Samoan people. Their work has become a shining symbol of China-Samoa friendly cooperation.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the Chinese and Samoan governments, the 10-member 24th CMT arrived in Samoa in 2025, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Samoa. This milestone deployment ended a 30-year gap in TCM services in Samoa, bringing the time-honoured healing practices of TCM back to the Samoan people. Over the past year, leveraging their professional strengths and adapting to local medical needs, the 24th CMT has introduced a series of first-of-their-kind diagnostic and therapeutic techniques in Samoa, filling critical gaps in the country’s healthcare capabilities.

In April 2026, with strong support from the Samoan Ministry of Health, the TCM outpatient clinic at TTM Hospital was officially inaugurated—a historic breakthrough that opens a new chapter in bilateral health cooperation in traditional medicine and marks a new height in China-Samoa medical collaboration.

Samoa is one of the first South Pacific countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China and the first Pacific island nation to receive CMT. As President Xi Jinping emphasised, “The Chinese people love peace and cherish lives—China’s foreign medical assistance is a vivid illustration of that.”

Looking ahead, China remains committed to advancing its relations with the Pacific island countries, including Samoa, under the principle of “Four Fully Respects”: fully respecting the sovereignty and independence of Pacific island countries, fully respecting their will, fully respecting their cultural traditions, and fully respecting their efforts to seek strength through unity. Guided by this principle, China will continue to align its medical assistance with Samoa’s evolving health needs, expand and deepen practical cooperation in healthcare, medical training, and public health emergency response, and work together with Samoa to build a global community of health for all, contributing more to the well-being of both peoples and the development of the South Pacific region.

I extend my highest respect and heartfelt gratitude to all past and present members of the Chinese Medical Teams for their enduring contributions to Samoa’s health and well-being. May the spirit of friendship and healing continue to thrive for generations to come.

Fei Mingxing is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Independent State of Samoa.