On September 27, 2025, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC) of Sun Yat-sen University, the Hainan Provincial Health Commission, and the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone Administration signed a framework agreement in Lecheng, Hainan, to jointly establish the "Hainan International Eye Hospital of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University". This initiative represents a significant move by ZOC in supporting the "Healthy China" strategy and advancing its international development. It marks the in-depth integration of top-tier domestic ophthalmic resources with the national free trade port strategy, aiming to build a high-level eye hospital serving the global community, scheduled to commence operations by the end of 2025.

Guangdong and Hainan: Thirteen Years of Collaboration, Launching a New Chapter through Ophthalmic Care

ZOC shares a profound connection with Hainan. In the 1980s, Professors Chen Yaozhen and Mao Wenshu traveled to the Li ethnic regions of Hainan to conduct eye disease screenings. In 2012, ZOC assisted in establishing the Hainan Eye Hospital, achieving the goal of "treating major eye diseases within the island". Thirteen years later, alongside the accelerated development of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the Lecheng Pilot Zone has become a platform aggregating international pharmaceutical equipment and medical resources. Leveraging Lecheng's policies such as the "early and pilot implementation of medicines and medical devices", this new collaboration will facilitate the rapid introduction of internationally advanced equipment and drugs, creating a new model for "Chinese-style modernized international healthcare."

Comprehensive Collaboration to Propel Chinese Ophthalmology onto the Global Stage

ZOC will contribute to the International Eye Hospital's development in four key areas:

· Medical Innovation: Establishing an International Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Complex Eye Diseases, offering personalized and precise care.

· Research Collaboration: Building an international ophthalmic research platform to attract global teams for joint research initiatives.

· Talent Development: Setting up an International Training Center to cultivate professionals with a global perspective.

· Service Model: Creating a "one-stop" diagnosis and treatment system for efficient, full-cycle services.

The project will integrate "Chinese ophthalmic expertise" with the "medical policies of the Free Trade Port," establishing an eye health hub that is "based in Hainan, serving Southeast Asia, and reaching the world", thereby promoting Chinese ophthalmic solutions globally.

Professor Lin Haotian, President of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, stated that while the scope of cooperation is evolving from "treating eye diseases without leaving the island" to "coming to the island for eye disease treatment," the original aspiration remains unchanged: "safeguarding vision and serving the nation". The Hainan International Eye Hospital is poised to become a benchmark project for medical openness within the Free Trade Port and an international flagship for Chinese ophthalmology.