"Building a Healthy China by 2035 is a strategic decision made by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee."

BEIJING, March 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday afternoon, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, visited the members of the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, the Jiusan Society, the sector of medicine and health, and the sector of welfare and social security, who were attending the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. When Xi was attending a joint group meeting and hearing their comments and suggestions, he stressed ensuring decisive progress in advancing the Healthy China Initiative during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Promoting the building of a Healthy China is a solemn commitment the Party has made to the people. A commitment is weighty as a thousand pieces of gold, and actions must be persistent. The tremendous dedication the Party and the state have poured into the people's health is felt most deeply by the people themselves.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), more than 600 million instances of direct cross-provincial medical expenses settlement were processed nationwide, and average life expectancy rose by 1.3 years over the past five years. In 2025, the proportion of residents aged 7 and above who regularly participate in physical exercise reached 38.52 percent…

Step by step, with unwavering determination and years of solid effort, a robust foundation has been laid for the people's happiness and well-being. From these achievements, we can gain a deeper understanding of General Secretary Xi's people-centered sentiment, and more fully grasp the true meaning of the word "people" embedded in Healthy China.

From "difficulty" one sees "determination," revealing a profound sentiment.

China has a huge population as well as considerable urban-rural and regional disparities. The challenges facing hygiene and health work are beyond imagination.

Yet geographical distance is no barrier. Over more than a decade, 11 batches of more than 2,400 people have been dispatched in "group-style" aid to Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region and Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, planting the seeds of "health flame" that cannot be taken away. By concentrating strengths to accomplish major tasks, medical consortia and alliances have bridged the gaps in remote mountainous areas, delivering high-quality resources right to people's doorsteps… "Unswervingly following the path of health development with Chinese characteristics" and "unswervingly implementing guidelines for health work in the new era," knowing the difficulties and facing them head-on, China reflects its original aspiration and demonstrates its institutional advantages.

Over these years, China has established the world's largest social security system and medical and health system. The national medicare reimbursement list has continued to expand, vividly illustrating what it means to prioritize health and place life above all else.

Reaching far and wide while attending to the smallest details reflects a grand vision.

Advancing the Healthy China Initiative is a systematic undertaking. In response to diverse health needs, nationwide fitness has been elevated to a national strategy, and "strictly implementing the food safety responsibility system" has been written into the "No. 1 central document." Sports powerhouse development and Healthy China Initiative mutually reinforce each other. Every measure reflects a broad vision and a grand perspective.

Big health connects on one end to people's livelihood and on the other to development. In Shanghai's Zhangjiang Pharma Valley, efforts focus on "first launches, first choices, and first innovations," gathering more than 2,300 innovation entities across the biomedical field. Leveraging its outstanding ecology, Guangde, East China's Anhui Province, has emerged as a well-known wellness destination, drawing 53 wellness cultural tourism projects.

New demands embody people's expectations and harbor market opportunities. By expanding the big health sector, China will continue to add points to people's health and multiply their happiness.

Driving development through innovation calls for great responsibility.

Responsibility lies in facing difficulties head-on. Sanming, East China's Fujian Province, cracked the hard nut of "using drugs to subsidize medical system," and blazed a new trail through the "three-medical linkage" reform.

To reduce burdens on doctors and patients, recognition of medical test results across hospitals has been steadily advanced… Further deepening reform and innovating mechanisms will provide strong support for building a Healthy China.

Responsibility also lies in boldly pursuing the new. Earlier this year, the New York Times published a full-page report: In a hospital in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang Province, an artificial intelligence model promptly detected pancreatic cancer in retired bricklayer Mr. Qiu, enabling successful surgical removal.

A non-contrast CT scan costs about $25. Foreign netizens heatedly discussed it: "Looks like a great use of this emerging technology."

At this year's "two sessions," "AI + healthcare" attracted intense attention. By orienting scientific and technological innovation toward people's life and health—promoting translation and strengthening application—we can shoulder the heaviest burdens and break through the most perilous obstacles.

"Health is the 1, and everything else is a 0." By safeguarding the foundation of health and removing worries, China deepens the "1" more and more and multiplies the number of "zeros." This will better synchronize high-quality population development, high-quality lives for the people, and high-quality economic growth.