Beijing, May 18 – To further advance the construction of a high-quality and efficient healthcare service system in the capital and enhance the health and well-being of the population, based on the work plan of the Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee for 2026, a report on the government’s efforts to expand and balance the distribution of high-quality medical resources will be heard and reviewed. At a recent kickoff meeting for this work, it was stated that Beijing has been continuously promoting the balanced distribution of high-quality medical resources. Since the 13th Five-Year Plan period, 16 major national and municipal medical relocation projects have been completed, reducing bed capacity in the core and central urban areas by over 4,700 beds, while adding more than 8,100 beds in resource-poor areas beyond the Fifth Ring Road. The annual service volume for non-local patients in the core area has decreased by about 1.4 million visits compared to 2018. Eight new branches of municipal hospitals have been established and put into operation in the plain new towns and the sub-center, continuously delivering benefits.
In terms of enhancing service capacity in the plain new towns and the sub-center, high-quality medical resources are being precisely transferred to these areas and the southern part of the city. The eight new municipal hospital branches are already operational and effective. By 2025, the bed count per thousand people in the plain new towns will be approximately 5.2, a 20.4% increase from 2015, addressing service gaps in resource-poor regions.
At the same time, efforts are being made to expand and improve the quality of medical resources. First, pediatric service capacity is being enhanced. Construction of high-level children’s hospitals, such as the Beijing Children’s Hospital Yizhuang Campus and the Capital Children’s Medical Center Tongzhou Campus, is progressing. Eight batches of close-knit pediatric medical alliances have been established, covering over 40 secondary and tertiary medical institutions across the city. All secondary-level and above general hospitals have pediatric departments, and during peak respiratory disease seasons, over 80 nighttime clinics and emergency facilities are publicly listed to ensure children can access nearby care.
Second, the supply of geriatric, rehabilitation, nursing, and palliative care is being strengthened. Over 90% of secondary-level and above general hospitals have geriatric departments. A total of 26 palliative care centers or wards have been built, achieving full district-level coverage, with “palliative care fees” included in medical insurance reimbursement. Three rehabilitation specialist medical alliances have been established to promote the transformation of public hospitals into rehabilitation facilities. Across the city, 846 medical institutions have rehabilitation departments, providing 11,990 rehabilitation beds, or 0.55 beds per thousand people. Private nursing institutions are developing rapidly, with a significant increase in the number of nursing homes and stations.
Third, the leading role of national medical centers is being leveraged. Beijing has been approved for 12 types of national medical centers, operating across 13 hospitals. In 2025, these 13 hospitals lead in emergency department visits, ICU bed capacity, and pre-hospital transfer acceptance rates, with CMI values higher than the city average and continuously rising, playing a crucial role in critical care support. These hospitals are also strengthening technological innovation and industrial development, conducting research on major diseases, and have achieved 19 technology transfers with a contract value of 138 million yuan.
In terms of empowering the entire chain with digital intelligence, Beijing continues to expand the scope of internet-based medical services. It has established 123 internet hospitals, with 354 medical institutions offering internet-based diagnosis and treatment services. 154 “internet health village clinics” have been built, and the city has taken the lead nationally in piloting first-time consultations via internet diagnosis. In the field of “artificial intelligence + healthcare,” the respective advantages of the government, market, and local entities are fully utilized to form a development synergy. Relying on the National AI Application Pilot Base, supply-demand matching is deepened, the value of data elements is released, and a model is established where leading hospitals conduct research and primary-level facilities apply the results, thereby empowering the construction of the healthcare service system.
Currently, Beijing has built a fully covered hierarchical diagnosis and treatment network, forming 62 comprehensive medical alliances and over 120 specialist medical alliances, creating a service network that extends vertically to the grassroots and horizontally across regions. A unified citywide primary-level referral platform has been established, granting referral permissions to over 9,000 primary care doctors. All community health service centers and stations provide referral services. In 2025, the number of consultations at community health service institutions increased by about 60% compared to 2020, with an average annual growth rate of over 9.7% during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
Beijing has issued mutual recognition plans and technical specifications to achieve full
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