Prof. Lu Lin, President of Peking University Sixth Hospital and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, attended the webinar on mental health cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era held in November 22 as a side event of the 2021 East Asia Summit. Prof. Lu was invited by the Foreign Ministry of Brunei, the ASEAN Chair for 2021.

　　During the webinar, Prof. Lu talked to experts from East Asia and ASEAN about mental health policy in China and emerging issues in the context of COVID-19. He was joined by peers from Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and other ASEAN members, who in turn shared their experience in mental health-related policy development and implementation in response to their respective challenges. The webinar harbored a heated discussion over the implications of COVID-19 on mental health and strategies in response.

　　Other participants to the webinar included representative from the Bruneian Foreign Ministry; Prof. Harry Minas, Head of the Global and Cultural Mental Health Unit at University of Melbourne; Prof. Helen Herrman, former President of the World Psychiatric Association; Dr. Dévora Kestel, Director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at the World Health Organization; and psychiatrists from the region.

　　This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the China-ASEAN dialogue relations. The webinar is expected to pave way for more cooperation between China and ASEAN in mental health services and response to public health emergencies.

　　Written by: Fan Xiaofei

　　Edited by: Liu Xin

　　Source: Peking University Sixth Hospital