President Xi Jinping has called for sustained efforts to improve public health and achieve decisive progress in China's Healthy China Initiative during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030). Speaking at a national health meeting held in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, Xi emphasized the need to continue developing healthcare programs with Chinese characteristics, addressing both strengths and weaknesses in the system to promote high-quality health sector development.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the party has prioritized the Healthy China Initiative as a strategic national goal, aiming to enhance public health, promote healthier lifestyles, and manage challenges arising from an aging population, increasing chronic diseases, and rising healthcare costs. The initiative encompasses public health services, environmental management, healthcare industry development, and food and drug safety.
China currently operates the world’s largest medical service system, traditional medicine service system, disease prevention and control network, and medical security system. Approximately 1.1 million medical and health institutions serve a population of more than 1.4 billion people, with over 90 percent of residents able to access medical facilities within 15 minutes. Basic medical insurance covers nearly 95 percent of the population. By 2025, average life expectancy reached 79.25 years, infant mortality declined to 3.8 per 1,000 live births, and maternal mortality fell to 13.4 per 100,000, reflecting significant public health improvements.
Despite these achievements, Xi highlighted the ongoing challenge of transforming widespread healthcare coverage into equitable, efficient, and high-quality medical services. Key priorities over the next five years include optimizing medical institution layouts, promoting tiered diagnosis and treatment, and ensuring patients can receive effective care close to home. Prevention remains a cornerstone of health strategy, with a focus on foundational health work and risk mitigation to strengthen disease control capabilities and guard against outbreaks.
The agenda also calls for improving mechanisms to preserve and innovate traditional Chinese medicine, enhance basic research and innovation in healthcare, cultivate a sufficient cadre of highly qualified medical professionals, and improve patient experience.
Beyond domestic goals, China aims to contribute globally through medical assistance, international health cooperation, and participation in global disease prevention efforts. Xi vowed to promote building a global community of health, collaborating with other countries to address major health challenges and improve worldwide well-being.
Xi underscored that people’s health is a fundamental marker of national prosperity and strength and should be integrated into all policy areas, including planning, evaluation, and project implementation. He reiterated that investing in health is an investment in China’s future, recognizing its critical role in enhancing human development, social resilience, and sustainable high-quality growth.
By 2035, China intends to establish a health system compatible with a largely modernized society, delivering balanced, inclusive, and efficient medical and healthcare services that meet the population's growing health demands.