by ZHAI Ruimin
China's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday that the country's life expectancy rose to 79 years in 2024, while infant and maternal mortality fell to their lowest levels on record, underscoring continued improvements in public health.
The infant mortality rate dropped to 4.0 per 1,000 and the maternal mortality rate to 14.3 per 100,000, according to the NHC's annual statistical bulletin. At a conference in Guangzhou, Health Minister LEI Haichao said China aims to lift life expectancy to around 80 by 2030, after average annual gains of more than 0.2 years during the current five-year plan.
Health-care resources expanded modestly in 2024, the NHC said, with total expenditure rising to 9.1 trillion yuan (about US$1.3 trillion) or 6.7% of GDP. Authorities also reported slight declines in average inpatient and outpatient costs as Beijing continues efforts to curb medical inflation.
China logged 3.37 million cases of notifiable Class A and B infectious diseases, excluding COVID-19, with viral hepatitis, syphilis and tuberculosis among the most common. Class C diseases, led by influenza and diarrheal illnesses, totaled 11.12 million cases.
