BEIJING - A general practitioner (GP) system will be established in China by 2020 in order to ensure better medical care for the country's 1.3 billion people, according to a document published Thursday by the State Council, China's Cabinet.

The document, titled "Directions on the Establishment of the General Practitioner System", emphasizes the importance of bringing the GP system into being to meet the health requirements of the Chinese people.

General practitioners are commonly found in developed countries, where they work as "gatekeepers" for the health of smaller communities and regions. They are responsible for treating acute and chronic illness and providing preventive care and health education for people of all ages.

The establishment of the GP system will inevitably bring reforms and changes to the country's medical service as whole, the document said, adding the State Council will learn from international experiences while trying to work out China-style GP system.

The document lists principles for establishing the new system to ensure the quality of general practitioners, with a focus on improving their capabilities in clinical practice, standardizing criteria for the training of general practitioners and creating strict requirements for doctors who wish to apply for GP certification.

According to the document, there will be two or three general practitioners in practice for every 10,000 urban and rural residents.

GP candidates will be required to pass a five-year study on clinical medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), as well as a three-year GP training program, the document said.

In the first stage of the creation of the system, the government will assign one qualified GP to every community-based clinic and township-level hospital in the country's rural areas.

General practitioners will be allowed to work full-time or part-time at smaller clinics, and will be permitted to open clinics on their own or in collaboration with other doctors.

They will be encouraged to sign contracts with local residents which will oblige them to take care of a specific number of elderly, handicapped and chronically ill patients.

The government will give subsidies to general practitioners who are willing to work in remote areas in the central and western parts of the country, according to the document.