Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the US and China. Of the top 10 (by incidence) cancers in China, four are women’s cancers, including breast and cervical cancers.

Despite successes in cancer control and prevention in both countries, there is more to do. The US and Chinese governments have announced a commitment to health as a potential area of bilateral cooperation. To inform that commitment and recognize the importance of and relative underinvestment in women’s cancers, the Milken Institute has launched an initiative, “Coalition-Building between the US and China on Women’s Cancer Detection, Treatment, and Care.” Through this initiative, the Institute seeks to harness the power of the nonprofit, public, and private sectors to address barriers to improving cancer patients’ outcomes.

To kick off the initiative, the Milken Institute, in collaboration with the US-China Business Council (USCBC), hosted a day-long roundtable in Hong Kong in March 2024 to identify potential opportunities for US-China bilateral cooperation. The Institute brought together 40 delegates from China and the US from across the biomedical ecosystem to surface actionable ideas for collaboration that can advance solutions to the most vexing challenges facing the elimination of women’s cancer. Participants included those from the US National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute, the US Department of Commerce, the US Department of State, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Attaché from Beijing, the Chinese National Cancer Center, medical centers in Hong Kong, and member companies of the USCBC in the life sciences industry. This brief is a summary of the roundtable, including potential areas for bilateral collaboration.