China's health indicators reach medium- and high-income country levels

BEIJING -- Chinese residents now enjoy the same level of health, on average, as people in medium- and high-income countries, a health official said on Friday at a press conference.

The average life expectancy of Chinese is estimated to be one year more than in 2010, said Xiong Huang, deputy director of the publicity department of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

The maternal mortality rate fell to 21.7 per 100,000 in 2014 from 30 per 100,000 in 2010, and infant mortality dropped to 8.9 per 1,000 in 2014 from 13.1 per 1,000 in 2010.

Xiong said China has realized the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead of schedule in terms of maternal mortality and infant mortality.

The health insurance system is also improving. Xiong said coverage of the medical insurance scheme stabilized at more than 95 percent of the total population. The annual government grant for each urban unemployed citizen and each rural resident has risen to 380 yuan ($60.79).

Moreover, the country has a low prevalence of HIV/AIDS and the incidence rate of tuberculosis is on decline, Xiong said, adding the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen, a key index indicating hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, for Chinese children under five has dropped to 0.32 percent due to HBV vaccination.