Guangdong Identifies Five Key Focus Areas for Future Healthcare Reform, National Conference on Deepening Healthcare Reform Experience Held in Guangzhou

On April 11-12, 2026, the National Conference on Deepening Healthcare Reform Experience Promotion and China Health Development was held in Guangzhou. The conference, themed “Learning from Sanming, Advancing Reform: Focusing on Deepening Public Hospital Reform Guided by Public Welfare,” featured one main venue and 19 sub-venues. Discussions covered hot topics such as “Bay Area Innovation,” “Learning from Sanming,” “AI Empowerment,” “Public Welfare Orientation,” and “New Pediatric System Construction.” Participants, including heads of health administration departments, medical institution managers, and industry experts from across the country, gathered to discuss reforms, analyzing challenges and sharing visions.

At the conference, the top ten new initiatives and top ten news figures for 2025 under the theme “Advancing Medical Reform, Serving Public Health” were showcased and promoted. Additionally, 50 key regions for “Learning from Sanming, Advancing Reform” were announced. Among them, Guangdong’s health initiative “Hundreds, Thousands, Tens of Thousands Project,” which strengthens the foundation of tiered healthcare, was recognized as one of the top ten new initiatives for 2025. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Maoming in Guangdong Province were selected as key promotion regions for “Learning from Sanming, Advancing Reform.”

During the conference, a presentation titled “Persisting in Deepening Medical Reform as the Driver, Building a Higher-Level Healthy Guangdong” outlined a series of significant achievements in Guangdong’s health work during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period. First, establishing mechanisms and adhering to a health-first development strategy. Second, building highlands to lead advanced diagnosis and treatment technologies. Third, strengthening primary care to enhance medical service capabilities. Fourth, promoting reform to improve system efficiency. Fifth, benefiting people’s livelihoods by making services more accessible and convenient. Sixth, enhancing connectivity for joint development and sharing in a healthy Bay Area. Seventh, safeguarding the bottom line to ensure public health security.

It is reported that in recent years, guided by its status as the nation’s first demonstration province for high-quality health development, jointly established by national and local health authorities, Guangdong has deeply advanced medical reform. The fairness, accessibility, and convenience of healthcare services have continuously improved. Guangdong has remained the top province for births for eight consecutive years and the only province with over one million births annually for six years. The province’s average life expectancy has risen to 80.6 years, while maternal and infant mortality rates have dropped to 7.22 per 100,000 and 1.94‰, respectively, with core health indicators reaching historically optimal levels.

Looking ahead, the focus will be on continuously promoting high-quality health development by “optimizing resource planning and layout,” “improving diversified financing mechanisms,” “strengthening coordinated development of healthcare, medical insurance, and medicine,” “enhancing systematic and continuous services,” and “firmly safeguarding quality and safety standards.”