Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 12 Sep 2026 – Liu Jinfeng, Vice Minister of China’s National Health Commission (NHC) and Director of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM), led a delegation to Malaysia from 9–12 September 2026 and served as co‑chair of both the 10th China–ASEAN Health Ministers’ Meeting and the 11th ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan, Korea) Health Ministers’ Meeting, which convened more than 160 delegates from ASEAN member states, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. During the visit, China and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on health cooperation between the two governments.

Diplomatic Milestone

Item	Detail
Delegation Head	Liu Jinfeng – Vice Minister, NHC; Director, NATCM
Meetings	10th China–ASEAN Health Ministers’ Meeting; 11th ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, Korea) Health Ministers’ Meeting – China served as co‑chair
Dates & Venue	9–12 Sep 2026, Malaysia
Participation	160+ representatives from ASEAN member states, China, Japan and Korea
Bilateral Outcome	Signing of the MOU on Health Cooperation between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of Malaysia with Malaysian Health Minister Zulkifli Ahmad
Delegation Composition	Officials from NHC departments of System Reform, Primary Healthcare and International Cooperation, NATCM, the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, and the National Center for Women and Children’s Health

Cooperation Agenda & Policy Priorities

• Policy Showcase: Liu presented China’s national health “15th Five‑Year” Plan (2026–2030) and highlighted the achievements of the Healthy China initiative to regional counterparts.
• China–ASEAN Track: Commitment to deepen cooperation under the China–ASEAN health cooperation mechanism in health human resources, maternal and child health, and traditional medicine.
• ASEAN+3 Track: Commitment to strengthen practical cooperation on infectious disease prevention and control, healthy aging, and universal health coverage (UHC).
• Strategic Framing: Both agendas were positioned toward building a global community of health for all, extending China’s multilateral health diplomacy footprint across Southeast and Northeast Asia.

Bilateral Engagements & Field Visits

• Malaysia: Meeting with Health Minister Zulkifli Ahmad, culminating in the signing of the China–Malaysia health cooperation MOU, which institutionalizes a bilateral framework for future joint programs.
• Other Delegations: Exchanges with heads of delegation from the Republic of Korea, Cambodia and the ASEAN Secretariat.
• Site Inspections: The delegation visited Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital, a primary healthcare clinic, and the China–Malaysia Zhongjing Traditional Chinese Medicine Center – a flagship platform for TCM cooperation between the two countries.

Regional Health Diplomacy Impact & Outlook

• Institutional Deepening: The MOU with Malaysia converts ministerial dialogue into a standing bilateral cooperation framework, likely anchoring follow‑on projects in workforce training, primary care and traditional medicine.
• TCM as a Soft‑Power Channel: The visit to the Zhongjing TCM Center – and the explicit inclusion of traditional medicine in the China–ASEAN cooperation agenda – signals Beijing’s continued push to internationalize TCM across Southeast Asia.
• Aging & UHC Convergence: With ASEAN economies facing rapidly aging populations, prioritizing healthy aging and universal health coverage aligns China’s domestic policy export with the region’s most pressing structural health challenges.
• Disease‑Control Alignment: The ASEAN+3 focus on infectious disease prevention and control reinforces post‑pandemic regional surveillance and response coordination among the three Northeast Asian partners and ASEAN.
• Next Steps: Specific work programs, timelines and funding commitments under the MOU were not disclosed in the readout.

Forward‑Looking Statements
This brief contains forward‑looking statements regarding the implementation of the China–Malaysia health cooperation MOU and cooperation agendas under the China–ASEAN and ASEAN+3 health mechanisms. Actual outcomes may differ due to risks including policy prioritization, resource allocation, and evolving diplomatic and public health conditions. Implementation details were not disclosed in the official readout.-China Health Reform Pulse

Policy Source: https://www.nhc.gov.cn/gjhzs/c100032/202609/9bd3cf08c8bb42139a684feddbba9b2a.shtml

Beijing, China – 28 Aug 2026 – The National Health Commission (NHC), the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NATCM) and the National Disease Prevention and Control Administration (NDCP) have jointly issued the “Work Plan for Accelerating the Provision of High‑Quality and Efficient Eye Health Services (2026–2030)” (Guo Wei Yi Zheng Fa [2026] No. 22), directing provincial authorities to implement a nine‑task, full‑life‑cycle eye‑care framework that sets binding 2030 targets for cataract surgery rates, ophthalmologist density, county‑level service capability, and explicitly promotes artificial‑intelligence empowerment across screening and diagnosis.

Policy Milestone

Item	Detail
Issuing Authorities	NHC, NATCM, NDCP (joint)
Document	Work Plan for Accelerating High‑Quality and Efficient Eye Health Services (2026–2030)
Document No.	Guo Wei Yi Zheng Fa [2026] No. 22
Issuance Date	28 Aug 2026 (proactive public disclosure)
Policy Period	2026–2030 (“15th Five‑Year Plan” window)
Policy Anchor	Healthy China 2030 Outline and National Health “15th Five‑Year” Plan
Guiding Approach	Prevention first, medical‑prevention integration, equal TCM/Western‑medicine emphasis, multi‑disease co‑prevention and co‑management; shift from disease‑centered to health‑centered care
Recipients	Provincial health, TCM and disease‑control authorities, incl. Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps

2030 Targets

Indicator	Target by 2030
Refractive Screening & Correction	Steadily higher screening rates for children aged 0–6 and primary/secondary students; eREC (effective refractive‑error coverage) continuously rising; stronger correction awareness among the elderly
Cataract Surgery Rate (CSR)	>4,000 per million population; eCSC (effective cataract surgical coverage) continuously rising
Workforce	>5.3 ophthalmologists (practicing/assistant) per 100,000 population; expanded optometrist ranks
County Capability	>93% of county general hospitals with an ophthalmology (ENT‑ophthalmology) department; >95% of counties independently treating common eye diseases; all counties able to deliver cataract surgery; expanding basic vision‑care and low‑vision rehabilitation coverage

Nine Task Areas

• Risk Prevention & Health Literacy: Launch the “Hundreds‑Thousands‑Tens of Thousands” eye‑health education action — 100 provincial‑level, 1,000 prefecture‑level, and 10,000 grassroots outreach events targeting children, the elderly, and key occupational groups, timed with National “Love Eye Day,” World Sight Day and World Glaucoma Week; integrate eye‑complication prevention into chronic‑disease management.
• Tiered Service System: Tertiary and specialty eye hospitals handle acute, severe and complex cases; secondary hospitals manage common diseases and upward referral; township/community centers are encouraged to offer optometry and fundus photography; village clinics provide vision checks and education. Tight‑knit county medical communities and urban medical groups channel technology, remote guidance and training downward — including retired medical staff serving resource‑weak western and grassroots regions.
• Early Screening: Strengthen newborn eye‑disease screening and vision checks for children aged 0–6 (detecting insufficient hyperopic reserve early); compile a key‑population screening catalogue covering refractive error, diabetic retinopathy, cataract and glaucoma for children, middle‑aged/elderly, and diabetes/hypertension patients; issue grassroots screening and referral guidelines.
• Standardized Care: Revise ophthalmic diagnosis/treatment guidelines and technical norms; build specialty quality‑control indicator systems; expand day‑surgery and outpatient‑surgery categories and raise their share of elective procedures.
• Low‑Vision Rehabilitation: Embed rehabilitation into the full care pathway; promote the “assessment–fitting–training–follow‑up” service model and build capacity in visual‑disability evaluation and assistive devices.
• Key Disease Programs: Implement WHO’s “SPECS 2030” refractive‑care initiative; enforce myopia‑prevention guidelines with early warning for high myopia; deliver integrated TCM–Western myopia control for children; consolidate cataract blindness‑elimination gains via paired assistance, mobile medical tours and “Bright Journey” (光明行) programs; optimize care models for fundus diseases and glaucoma with AI integration, tiered diagnosis and two‑way referral with mutual result recognition; standardize eye banks and corneal‑transplant oversight; sustain blinding‑trachoma elimination; regulate retinopathy of prematurity care; build capacity in ocular trauma, strabismus/amblyopia, and rare and hereditary eye diseases.
• TCM Synergy: Develop TCM‑specific intervention guidelines for eye health; build integrated Chinese–Western medicine “flagship” departments; extend acupuncture and acupoint‑application therapies to grassroots institutions.
• AI & Digital Empowerment: Deep‑integrate AI, big data and 5G with eye services under the “Internet+” medical model; scale tele‑ophthalmology for remote consultation, image interpretation and follow‑up; explore medical‑AI applications in grassroots screening, assisted diagnosis, patient services, public health, research and the health industry.
• Talent & Science: Strengthen standardized residency training and continuing education; cultivate optometrists, ophthalmic nurses and low‑vision rehabilitation specialists; conduct epidemiological surveillance of blinding diseases and their socioeconomic burden.

County Cataract Build‑Out Formula

• Counties with resident population ≥300,000: at least one county hospital must independently perform cataract surgery, via equipment provision, personnel training and quality strengthening.
• Counties with population <300,000: cataract surgery delivered primarily through organized mobile/visiting medical services (巡诊).

Key Metrics Defined (Official Annex)

• eREC: Share of people receiving high‑quality refractive correction (glasses, contact lenses, or surgery) among those needing it — covering both distance and near vision.
• eCSC: Share of people aged 50+ with good post‑operative distance vision among those needing cataract surgery; China will apply 6/12 and 6/18 dual vision standards in line with WHO flexibility guidance.
• SPECS 2030: WHO initiative spanning Services access, Personnel capacity, Education, Cost reduction, and Surveillance.

Market Impact & Outlook

• Surgical Volume Tailwind: The CSR >4,000 per million target, universal county cataract capability, and expanded day‑surgery categories point to sustained growth in cataract procedures, IOL implants, phacoemulsification equipment and surgical consumables through 2030.
• Screening Infrastructure Demand: Newborn screening, fundus photography pushed down to township level, and a formal screening catalogue create procurement demand for fundus cameras, optometry equipment, and vision‑screening devices at the primary‑care tier.
• AI Deployment Mandate: Explicit endorsement of AI in grassroots screening and assisted diagnosis — with fundus‑disease management as a named pilot area — opens a regulated pathway for AI ophthalmology diagnostic software vendors, with county and community institutions as the natural first market.
• Refractive & Myopia‑Control Economy: SPECS 2030 implementation, eREC as a tracked indicator, and TCM‑integrated myopia programs institutionalize recurring demand across optical retail, myopia‑control products (e.g., ortho‑k, defocus lenses) and pediatric vision services.
• Workforce as Capacity Unlock: The 5.3‑per‑100,000 ophthalmologist floor plus optometrist, nursing and rehabilitation training targets address the sector’s core bottleneck, supporting both public capacity and private ophthalmic chain expansion.

Implementation Structure

• Health authorities at all levels lead whole‑population, whole‑life‑cycle implementation; TCM departments promote appropriate technologies and integrated care; disease‑control departments run myopia surveillance and intervention for students.
• Provincial authorities tailor implementation measures and establish progress monitoring and evaluation mechanisms; the NHC will conduct research and guidance on plan execution as appropriate.

Forward‑Looking Statements
This brief contains forward‑looking statements regarding implementation timelines, service‑coverage targets, workforce expansion, county capability build‑out, and technology adoption under China’s 2026–2030 Eye Health Work Plan. Actual outcomes may differ due to risks including provincial execution capacity, funding allocation, training pipelines, AI regulatory approval, and evolving clinical standards.-China Health Reform Pulse

Policy Source: https://www.nhc.gov.cn/yzygj/c100068/202609/306f00c939424aadb79999b96353f36f.shtml