Xi's article on China's healthcare development to be published

BEIJING -- An article by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on advancing the Healthy China initiative will be published on Saturday.

The article by Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, will be published in this year's 15th issue of the Qiushi Journal, a flagship magazine of the CPC Central Committee.

The article said the next five years will be decisive for advancing the Healthy China initiative, calling for coordinated planning and intensified efforts to secure decisive progress.

Health development should proceed in light of China's national conditions, the article said.

It emphasized prioritizing key tasks, including improving the public health system by strengthening disease prevention and control, surveillance and early warning, medical treatment, emergency response, medical supplies and oversight.

China should build a high-quality and efficient healthcare service system, promote the integrated development of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and expand the supply of rehabilitation, nursing and hospice care services, while fostering healthy and civilized lifestyles, it wrote.

To provide stronger support for the Healthy China initiative, the article called for improving the policy framework for health promotion and taking health-related issues into account when formulating and implementing public policies.

The article also urged deepening reforms of public hospitals and medical insurance payment systems, promoting the application of scientific and technological innovation in the health sector, and advancing the digital and intelligent development of health services.