In a world of globalisation and massive health inequalities, international cooperation is a powerful tool for the management of global health. Moreover, because of the need for global health security, international cooperation for health can be seen as an important aspect of foreign policy. A major threat to global health security is infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, which have become significant threats to the development and the economic and social stability of developing countries. These diseases need global partnerships for international cooperation. The response to the challenges such as HIV/AIDS depends on partnerships that lead to effective cooperation of various sectors – international organisations, government, non-government organisations, and business enterprises. No single sector has either the resources or the capacity to work effectively to address complex health problems. Partnerships have many benefits, such as providing opportunities to share workloads and resources, building the capability of the members and creating the motivation for people to pull together. Successful cross-sector partnerships in health are fundamentally inclusive; they are actively involved in bridging government, academic, business, and nongovernmental organisation communities. At a time when public health depends more and more on partnerships, effective partnerships are needed to advance international cooperation. This is particularly the case in China.