On September 17, 2026, the CMA Annual Congress on Respiratory Medicine 2026 (the 27th Congress on Respiratory Medicine), hosted by the Chinese Medical Association and the Chinese Thoracic Society (CTS), opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. Centering on the core theme of "Focusing on High-Quality Clinical Research, Improving Respiratory Health Care”, the congress gathers respiratory colleagues from across the country to explore new directions for the discipline's development. Prof. Bin Cao, Chairman of the Chinese Thoracic Society, gave an exclusive interview to Nanshan Respiratory, discussing high-quality clinical research with respiratory professionals nationwide and looking ahead to the future of China's respiratory medicine.
The theme of CTS 2026 congress is "Focusing on High-Quality Clinical Research, Improving Respiratory Health Care." Could you share the background and original intention behind setting this congress theme?
Bin Cao: Looking back at the history of medicine, the emergence of new drugs, new therapies, new technologies, and new concepts in the medical field has always been rooted in the progress of medical research. In recent years, under the leadership of Academician Nanshan Zhong, Academician Chen Wang, and other senior pioneers, China's respiratory medicine has been developing very rapidly, achieving the leap from a large discipline to a strong one.
Every CTS annual congress has attached great importance to academic discussion of respiratory diseases and high-level clinical research. The special theme put forward this year, "Focusing on High-Quality Clinical Research", stems mainly from the fact that the discipline has entered a critical juncture: by raising the level of high-quality clinical research, we can in turn guide the long-term development of respiratory medicine. In recent years, Chinese scholars have achieved qualitative breakthroughs in high-quality clinical research. For example, this year Chinese scholars submitted more than 600 abstracts to the annual congress of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) — about 10% of the global total — and in the best-abstract selections of the 14 assemblies, Chinese scholars won 6 awards. These achievements fully demonstrate that, through long-term and solid experience accumulated in clinical research, high-quality clinical research has become the core engine driving the advancement of respiratory medicine in China.
Only by continuously producing high-quality clinical research outcomes can respiratory scholars in China keep further improving our capabilities in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of respiratory diseases, and thereby raise the level of respiratory health care for the entire population. This is precisely the original intention behind the theme of the 2026 congress.
Could you share with respiratory professionals nationwide the highlights of this CTS congress in terms of program content and format, compared with previous congresses?
Bin Cao: Centered on the theme, this congress introduced multiple innovations, mainly reflected in the following four aspects.
First, a concentrated display of each assembly’s major annual achievements. At this CTS congress, we set up dedicated display boards at the venue to present the core work of each assembly over the past year, making it convenient for attendees to compare progress across different specialty directions. Many participants stopped to view and exchange ideas there.
Second, upgrading the poster exchange format into a “second congress hall” for the collision of ideas. This CTS congress received more than 5,000 poster submissions, from which outstanding abstracts were selected for poster presentation. Meanwhile, for the first time, we invited the leaders and deputy leaders of each assembly to serve as moderators of poster presentations. The poster area is no longer merely a display space for posters — it has become a “second congress hall” for in-depth discussion of clinical evidence and the collision of ideas. The research achievements of many young physicians and graduate students received commentary and valuable advice from senior experts, which is of great value to the research and career development of young scholars.
Third, strengthening interdisciplinary integration. The congress invited well-known experts from critical care medicine, infectious diseases, rheumatology, allergy, and many other fields to participate in the exchanges. In addition, the scientific programs of all assembly breakout sessions emphasized the cross-integration of clinical research and basic research. Therefore, for an outstanding clinician, it is not enough to know “what” — one must also understand “why” and grasp the scientific mechanisms behind drugs and technologies.
Fourth, international exchange reaching a new height. At the opening ceremony of the 2026 congress, the President of the American Thoracic Society, together with the former President and the Chair of the Science Council of the European Respiratory Society, attended the congress at the same time — a reflection of international respiratory scholars’ recognition of the research strength and influence of their Chinese counterparts. The joint CTS–ERS scientific session also attracted many young physicians, who engaged in in-depth discussions with international experts. The intellectual vitality and the depth of thinking of Chinese clinicians resonated strongly with international peers, achieving a genuine exchange and collision of ideas.
In addition, the exhibition area of China’s innovative companies is also an important venue for academic exchange. The exhibition showcased clinically validated drugs, devices, and complete solutions, with content closely aligned with real clinical needs, making it easy for Chinese respiratory physicians to translate what they learn there into clinical practice. We look forward to clinical teams, research teams, and innovative companies joining hands to jointly advance Chinese respiratory medicine toward the ranks of the world’s first-class disciplines.
You have said that “research is the beacon guiding the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of disease.” Returning to the theme of this congress, in your view, what key directions should be pursued in the future to continue raising the level of clinical research in China’s respiratory discipline and empower its long-term development?
Bin Cao: First, the prerequisite for producing high-quality clinical research is having high-quality basic research — the two are inseparable. China enjoys a clear advantage in this respect. At present, teaching hospitals in China maintain very close ties with the medical schools of comprehensive universities. Many teaching hospitals are backed by comprehensive medical institutions, giving them a natural advantage in cooperation between clinical scholars and basic research scholars. Objectively, however, a gap remains at the fundamental research level between China’s research capability and top international standards. Therefore, in the future we must promote close collaboration between clinicians and basic scientists: grounded in a more focused research, we should uncover disease mechanisms and identify drug targets, completing the full closed loop from original scientific discovery to the translation and delivery of new drugs, new technologies, and new products. At present, respiratory medicine covers many disease areas, including COPD, asthma, interstitial lung disease, respiratory infections, and allergy-related pulmonary diseases. Looking ahead, each assembly should focus on its own specialized disease areas, concentrate its efforts, and overcome key challenges, thereby driving Chinese respiratory medicine to international leadership in each disease field.
In addition, talent development is equally key to the growth of the discipline. For young physicians, the most attractive thing is not preaching or rallying calls, but the genuine development prospects of respiratory medicine. When young doctors see that the respiratory discipline offers broad room for development, they will devote themselves to it of their own accord.
At present, China’s economy is developing rapidly, and we are also reflecting on whether the academic voice of respiratory medicine can match China’s level of economic development. At this stage, international experts attend the CTS annual congress mainly to share experience and deliver academic lectures. What we look forward to is that overseas colleagues will come to join in the CTS annual congress of their own accord — bringing their research findings and their clinical questions to attend, learn, and engage. Only that would represent a qualitative leap for the CTS annual congress. That is why I specifically proposed at the standing-committee meeting of the Chinese Thoracic Society that respiratory professionals in China should have this sense of responsibility and urgency. Once again, I call on respiratory colleagues across the country: “Setting a ten-year span for respiratory medicine. We will continuously strengthen our clinical and research capabilities and truly build the CTS annual congress into an international academic gathering with global influence — one that respiratory colleagues from all over the world will register for and attend of their own accord, submitting abstracts that carry their thinking and research findings, and coming to the CTS congress to exchange and learn.”
Summary
High-quality clinical research has become the core driving force propelling China’s respiratory discipline forward. This CTS annual congress not only presented the annual achievements of each assembly in a concentrated display and upgraded the poster area into a “second congress hall” for academic debate, but also actively held interdisciplinary discussions and promoted deep intellectual exchanges between Chinese and international experts, laying a solid foundation for the discipline’s advancement. In the future, China’s respiratory discipline will continue to be grounded in local clinical needs, build a basic research – scientific research – clinical translation system, cultivate young scholars in the respiratory field, and deepen industry–academia–research collaborative innovation. With ten years as the horizon, China’s respiratory community is marching forward with determination — striving tirelessly to enhance the country’s academic voice in global respiratory medicine and to build the CTS into an academic gathering with international influence.
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