The brains of the operation

A new chapter

When we spoke, Zhang was looking forward to his trip to the Caribbean: "I'm very honored to have this opportunity because it's the first time that China has sent a medical team to a Caribbean nation. It ushers in a new chapter of cooperation in the field of health between China and the Caribbean nations.

"The mission is the fulfillment of a promise President Xi Jinping made when he visited Trinidad and Tobago in June," he says, referring to Xi's pledge that China would dispatch 100 medical specialists to work in the Caribbean countries in the coming three years.

According to a protocol the countries signed in February, China will send four teams to Trinidad and Tobago for a period of two years, with each team committed to a six-month tour of duty. Zhang's team is the first of the four.

"We will provide medical services and training in close cooperation with our counterparts from Trinidad and Tobago," he says, noting that while Chinese medics have already established a presence in many African countries, for countries such as Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, a member of the British Commonwealth, this will be a pioneering experience.

Speaking of the Commonwealth nations, Zhang recalled how the spirit of Norman Bethune, a Canadian surgeon who lived and worked in China in the middle of the last century, inspired him.

"More than 70 years ago, Bethune made light of traveling thousands of miles to China as the head of a medical team and taking care of wounded Chinese soldiers during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Now Chinese medical teams are going to commonwealth nations to bolster a tradition of friendship," he says, adding that before setting off to Trinidad and Tobago, he planned to visit Bethune's old residence in Tangxian county, Hebei province, in honor of this inspiring figure.