BEIJING -- China has done a better job than other countries to educate the public about disease prevention, which helps the country effectively control the COVID-19 pandemic, top Chinese infectious disease expert Zhong Nanshan has said.

"It eased the public's fear and helped people understand and follow pandemic control measures," Zhong, a renowned respiratory professor from China's Guangzhou Medical University, was quoted by the South China Morning Post as saying.

Zhong's remarks were made at an online medical forum hosted on Sunday by Chinese tech giant Tencent, according to the report.

He said to a large extent, China's victory in the battle against COVID-19 should be attributed to the "efforts in spreading medical knowledge," according to the South China Morning Post.

The expert stressed the need to improve the public's understanding of science, said the report.

Proposing the establishment of a mechanism for long-term cooperation among medical experts around the world, Zhong highlighted the importance of broadening the international base of knowledge, according to the report.