China is broadening access to affordable healthcare through its Healthy China Initiative, aiming to improve medical services for its population of over 1.4 billion. President Xi Jinping has prioritized enhancing rural healthcare facilities, expanding health insurance coverage, and ensuring equitable access to quality medical services across urban and rural areas.
During a visit to a township clinic in Jiangsu province in 2014, Xi highlighted the necessity of directing more resources to community-level institutions to reduce the difficulties and costs associated with healthcare. The initiative includes reforms in hospital management, medical insurance, medicine supply, healthcare supervision, and tiered medical services, ensuring that serious illnesses can be treated within provinces, common conditions within cities or counties, and routine health issues at local facilities.
The development of 125 national regional medical centers, particularly in central and western regions where advanced medical resources are scarce, has been a crucial step. More than 90 percent of the population can now access nearby medical services within 15 minutes, with primary-level institutions accounting for over half of all medical visits nationwide.
Preventive healthcare is also a focus, with efforts to reduce childhood myopia contributing to a decline in the student myopia rate over five consecutive years from 2021 to 2025. By 2025, the rate dropped to 49.9 percent, a 3.7 percentage point decrease from 2018. The country’s average life expectancy rose to 79.25 years in 2025, with progress in managing major infectious and endemic diseases and a reduction in premature mortality from chronic diseases to 13.8 percent.
China is investing in medical technology and pharmaceutical innovation, encouraging digital healthcare, artificial intelligence applications, and the development of domestic medicines and medical equipment. In the first half of 2026, 38 innovative drugs received approval. Traditional Chinese medicine remains integral to the healthcare system, with efforts to modernize and promote international cooperation through various public health initiatives.
Looking ahead to 2035, China aims to align its healthcare system with broader modernization goals. As the population ages and healthcare demands diversify, the government continues to face challenges in improving service quality, affordability, and access nationwide.