China will advance the implementation of the health-first development strategy and deepen medical reform with greater intensity to meet people's expectations for better medical care services, said an official at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) on Sunday.
Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, said that efforts will be made in four areas to achieve this.
Lei underscored the importance of strengthening medical services at the grassroots level and further leveraging advanced technologies in public health to promote equality.
"First, we will further promote high-quality development. We plan to implement a series of key projects, including strengthening the grassroots healthcare system and expanding and enhancing rehabilitation care, both highlighted in the government work report. These are concrete measures to reinforce primary-level services, address weak links, and strengthen areas of vulnerability. We will continue to utilize advanced methods such as mobile medical teams, telemedicine, and internet-based diagnosis and treatment to improve the fairness and accessibility of healthcare services, further consolidating the foundation of healthcare for the people," Lei said.
"Second, we will further deepen the reform of the healthcare system. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), we plan to establish around 1,000 compact county-level medical communities to enhance the continuity of medical and health services. At the city level, we will promote the establishment of referral and consultation centers," he added.
The official also stressed the need to swiftly and properly handle infectious diseases and said the ministry will endeavor to raise people's average life expectancy to 80.
"Third, we will further strengthen public health security capabilities. It is essential to effectively prevent and control infectious diseases. This requires enhancing our capacities in infectious disease surveillance and early warning, risk assessment, medical treatment, rapid response, and other areas, including testing and inspection," said Lei.
"Fourth, we will build a global community of health for all. The four areas outlined above represent some of our key priorities. In terms of health, we have set a goal of raising the average life expectancy to 80 years by 2030. We will work diligently towards this goal," he noted.
China's top legislature opened its annual session on Thursday morning at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders attending the opening meeting alongside more than 2,700 NPC deputies. This year's NPC session is scheduled to run till March 12.
China to deepen people-centered medical reform: official
China's commitment to its path of opening up will continue as a long-term national strategy and should increasingly be defined by inclusiveness, a national political advisor said Friday.
Zhou Hanmin, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, made the remarks in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) during the annual political "two sessions" underway in Beijing.
"Opening-up is and has been a long-term national policy and a strategy ever since China opened itself up (to the world) some 48 years ago. Ever since China joined WTO (World Trade Organization), you could see it has fundamentally changed the formats of economic movements. So opening-up is a reference and also a driving force," he said.
Zhou stressed China must also invite less privileged nations to share in the prosperity of a more open world.
"Inclusiveness is one word that should be used to modify China's opening-up. I (previously) submitted a bill in CPPCC for the zero tariff for those least developed nations' exportation to China. Because for each and every China International Import Expo, you can see quite a large number of exhibitors coming from the least developed countries. We need to give them very genuine help. We are just in the situation of that. We just try to do not only with developed nations, but the Global South and rest of the countries, all together," he said.
Zhou's comments come amid the ongoing "two sessions", the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC. Both bodies serve a five-year term and hold a plenary session each year, generally in March.
The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively. A main focus is the adoption of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a key blueprint guiding China's drive toward modernization. When asked about key signals from the plan that the international community should closely watch, Zhou outlined several key issues.
"We are now carrying on this Five-Year Plan in the most crucial period of time. We are going to generally modernize the country (in) another 10 years. In this five-year period of time, we need to focus more on creation. Creation not necessarily in the field of technology. Creation means the modernization of the governance, create lots of new things in the system and methods of governance. This is also important," Zhou said.
"The modernization of industrial systems, the further expansion of the ability of consumption, and we try to know very well the longevity, whatever solves people's daily needs. The last but not least, we try to understand fully international collaboration. Opening-up is still a driving force," he said.
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
