China targets obesity reduction, rural health, TCM services by 2030

China plans to curb the upward trend of obesity and overweight prevalence, narrow the gap in health levels between urban and rural residents and provide full-life-cycle traditional Chinese medicine services across the entire population by 2030, according to a document released by health authorities on Monday.

The State Council — China's Cabinet — released a guideline in 2019 to implement the Healthy China initiative, proposing 15 campaigns to promote overall health of its people.

On Monday, the national patriotic health campaign committee released a notice, announcing that three more campaigns focusing on weight management, health improvements in rural areas and the provision of TCM services respectively will be added to the initiative, bringing the total number of campaigns to 18.

The latest move comes amid increasing rates of obesity among the Chinese population, a relatively large gap in health levels between urban and rural residents, as well as demands for the promotion and recognition of TCM health literacy.

The patriotic health campaign was launched in the early 1950s to promote disease prevention, improve environmental hygiene and elevate overall health.

Thanks to the campaign and other efforts, the health literacy level of Chinese residents grew from 19.17 percent in 2019 to 31.87 percent in 2024.

In addition, the harmless treatment rate of urban household waste reached 99 percent, and the coverage rate of sanitary toilets reached around 75 percent in 2024.

The premature mortality rate of major chronic diseases fell from 16.5 percent in 2019 to 15 percent in 2023.