In 1981 a contract of cooperation between the Faculty of Medicine at the then University of Essen and Tongji Medical University (TMU) in Wuhan was signed to promote and intensify German-Chinese exchange on a number of levels.

This partnership furthering the exchange of information and experience in the fields of medical research, training and patient care has proven to be invaluable. About 650 Chinese physicians, scientists and medical specialists have since been able to broaden their training in nearly all the medical disciplines at the University Hospital Essen. Since 1985, about 160 Chinese doctors and scientists have ended their guest residency in Essen with the conferral of a doctorate. For many returning Chinese, the knowledge and skills acquired in Essen about modern medical processes have provided them with the career base necessary for being offered positions of leadership at their home universities. The former exchange participants now hold key posts and have become chief physicians and heads of departments or clinics.