The Sino-French Emergency and Disaster Medicine Training Center, jointly established by the French Embassy in Beijing, the Beijing Health and Family Planning Commission and Total, and a French petroleum company, opened its new training site in Beijing on Tuesday.

The center, created in 2008, will continue its training program for medical practitioners from both countries for another three years.

An unveiling ceremony for the new site was held at the new wing of Beijing Anzhen Hospital, which is where the training classes for 2014 will take place.

Training in the past three years was held at the old building of Beijing Anzhen Hospital, where space was limited and equipment was not very modern. The new training site covers about 600 square meters, with first aid simulation exercises available.

At least 1,000 emergency physicians and teachers at medical schools participated in the training annually during the past three years. Dr Jerome Mourad, the French coordinator of the center, said that in 2013, the center conducted 15 training sessions with 150 teachers from China and France. A total of 6,000 doctors from both countries participated in the center's training program during the past three years.

"We have seen great improvement in our emergency physicians through the training," said Wei Yongxiang, president of Beijing Anzhen Hospital. "Just a few months ago, a nurse from our hospital successfully gave first aid to an old man who had a heart attack at a bus stop. We are looking forward to future improvement."

The center was established after 30 Chinese emergency physicians went to France in 2004 for a one-year training program as part of preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.