The country's first academic cooperative body that focuses on global mental health issues was launched in Shanghai on Monday.

The Collective Center for Global Mental Health was jointly established by the Shanghai Mental Health Center and Emory University in the US.

It will work as a global platform for exchange and communication in the field of mental health research and training, and further promote the development of mental health in China.

"Many developed countries have had their own centers focus on global mental health, but it's very rare in developing countries," said Michael Phillips, who has pioneered research on Chinese suicide for more than two decades. He is also the director of the Suicide Research and Prevention Center of the Shanghai Mental Health Center.

"The center provides opportunities for mutual study, where China and other countries can learn more from each other," he said.

The center's first program will start with India, which has accumulated a lot of positive experiences in promoting mental health in local communities.

"India has a similar conditions to China. It has carried out metal health projects among local communities very early, and China could learn from the experiences," he said.

The center will also carry out some basic research in mental health with experts from Emory University.