City outlines health industry development

Departments of Chengdu municipal government publicized a document this week on the future development of the health care industry of the city.

Government officials said at a press conference on Wednesday that the city was to put more than RMB60 bl to boost the development of the industry in the coming seven years, which will benefit the general population of the city.

Seven fields were cited as the key aspects in the development plan, including the international medical complex in Wenjiang District, TCM (traditional Chinese Medicine) industry, introducing modern institutions, IT access to medical care information and improving medical care management and education.

Local government also believes that the health care industry would prove a promising sector for Chengdus economic development and the goal of the plan is to make the city an internationally famous destination for health care and healthful life styles.

Notes: The health care industry is one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing industries. Consuming over 10 percent of gross domestic product of most developed nations, health care can form an enormous part of a countrys economy. The development of the industry in China lags behind that in developed countries and it only makes up about 5% of the countrys GDP. In 2003, health care costs consumed 15.3% of the GDP of the United States, the largest of any country in the world.