Recently, 14 ministries and commissios including National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) have jointly issued "National Action Plan for Containment of Bacterial Resistance (2016~2020)" to cope with increasingly severe antibiotic resistance problems in China, decrease irrational use of antibacterial drugs, and strengthen the construction of system for the application of antibacterial drugs and the control of bacterial resistance.

This Plan definitely specifies that strategies and measures for comprehensive control will be implementednationwide in many domains to enhance monitoring in each link of antibacterial drugs from research & development, production, circulation, application to environmental protection, to reinforce publicity and education activities and international communication and cooperation and to cope with the challenge of risks brought by bacterial resistance.

This Plan also presents nine main measures for the containment of bacterial resistance, including to take advantages of combination prevention and control to perform responsibilities of each department, to enhance antibacterial related R&Defforts, to reinforce the management of supply and supporting of antibacterial drugs, to strengthen the construction of system for the application of antibacterial drugs and the control of bacterial resistance, to improve monitoring system for the application of antibacterial drugs and the control of bacterial resistance, to increase the ability of professional staff to prevent and control bacterial resistance, to enhance the prevention and control of environmental pollution owing to antibacterial drugs, to augment publicity and education in the public and to develop extensive international communication and cooperation.

In order to promote Sino-French cooperation in nosocomial infection and bacterial resistance, NHFPC (former Ministry of Health of PRC)and French Fondation MérieuxsponsoredCooperative Project for Nosocomial Infection Control (HAI Project 2008~2010) in 2008, mainly for conducting activities to study clinical etiological diagnosis and epidemiology of drug resistance bacteria (especially MRSA) and to controlclinical interventions and risk factors. Based upon nineGrade 3comprehensive hospitalsnationwide powerful in nosocomial infection control and clinical laboratory including Peking Union Medical College Hospital and China-Japan Friendship Hospital, a lot of work was done in the implementation of nosocomial infection control and etiological diagnosis, baseline investigation and prevention & control interventions of infections owing to multidrug-resistant bacteria, the formulation and implementation of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the staff training and other aspects, having achieved great success.

Following this HAI project, Fondation Mérieux and Chinese Medical Association (CMA) jointly sponsored CARE project (China Against Drug Resistance) in 2013. In that November, the president of French Fondation Mérieux Mr. Alain Mérieuxsigned the strategic collaboration MOU of CARE project in Beijing with the vice-president of CMA Mr. Liu Yanfei. Meanwhile, Mr. Chen Zhu, Vice-Chairperson of The National People's Congress (NPC) of the PRC and president of CMA at that time attended and witnessed the signing ceremony together with numerous experts and scholars from scientific research and health domains. This project was a new strategy after the HAI Project for Nosocomial Infection Control (2008~2010). This collaboration will continue to promote Sino-French cooperation and communication in health field, share experiences and techniques in the rational use of antibiotics between two countries,and further improve scientific and standardized level of China's antibacterial drugs.

In November 2013, the president of Fondation Mérieux Mr. Alain Mérieux signed the strategic collaboration MOU of CARE in Beijing with Mr. Liu Yanfei, vice-president of CMA.

In December 2015, CARE project was launched formally. Meanwhile, Mr. Christophe Longuet,the medical director of Fondation Mérieux, andAcademicianLi Lanjuan, the chief physician of the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Zhejiang University anddirector of State Key Laboratory for Infectious Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment (SKLID)and vice-president of CMA, signed Strategic Collaboration MOU on the behalf of Fondation Mérieux, andthe First Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Zhejiang University together with Zhejiang University International Hospital respectively. This project is aiming to improve the rational use of antibacterial drugs in China, increase the level of nosocomial infection control and apply advanced international achievements in the rational use of antibacterial drugs and the monitoring of bacterial resistance in China.

In December 2015, Mr. Christophe Longuet, the medical director of Fondation Mérieux, and academician Li Lanjuan, thedirector of SKLID and vice-president of CMA, signed Strategic Collaboration MOU on the behalf of Fondation Mérieux and The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Zhejiang University together with Zhejiang University International Hospital respectively.

Concrete work of CARE was planned as a whole by SKLID of Zhejiang University. Under the leadership of Academician Li Lanjuan, the deputy director of SKLIDProf. Xiao Yonghong will lead the project team to work together in monitoring drug resistance, training staffs, carrying out seminars, establishing supervising system and mechanism for the rational use of antibacterial drugs and the nosocomial infection control, formulating Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the rational use of antibacterial drugs and the nosocomial infection control, etc.

Prof. Xiao Yonghong indicated in the interview that both doctors and patients have misunderstandings in antibiotics, and that the more you eat antibiotics, the greater the risk of developing AMR. Therefore, a long-term proposal is needed for China to cope with challenges brought by bacterial resistance and the available monitoring of bacterial resistance needs to be further developed. In addition, Prof. Xiao indicate this G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou include a session on fighting AMR through global cooperation. The effort must start within each country.

With G20 Summit being held in Hangzhou, concrete work of CARE Project will be carried out formally in the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical School of Zhejiang University.