As China advances its Healthy China Initiative, successful efforts made to prevent and treat altitude sickness on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau prompted a heartfelt response from President Xi Jinping on Friday, when he joined national political advisers from the sector of medicine and health, among others, for a group discussion in Beijing.
"Altitude sickness has long been one of the greatest difficulties facing those who work and live on the plateau," Xi said after Pasang Drolma, a national political adviser from the Xizang autonomous region, spoke about her years of work related to the prevention and treatment of the medical condition.
According to Pasang Drolma, a professor at the School of Medicine of Xizang University, China has made remarkable strides in this field. During the construction of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway, which began operating in 2006, not a single death was caused by altitude sickness. In addition, during the construction of the Sichuan-Xizang Railway, which is still underway, measures such as smart oxygen chambers and real-time blood oxygen monitoring helped significantly reduce its incidence, she noted.
The medical situation in the Qinghai-Xizang region remains close to Xi's heart. Conditions and technologies have improved greatly, but China still needs to strengthen the medical work on the plateau, he said. "To build a healthy China, we must shore up these weak links in remote areas," he added.
Calling for a multipronged approach, Xi said that traditional Chinese medicine, along with traditional Tibetan, Mongolian, Miao and other ethnic medicines, are valuable treasures of the nation.
He encouraged medical experts like Pasang Drolma, who have dedicated themselves to the plateau, to continue drawing on their rich experience, step up efforts to prevent and treat altitude sickness, and better safeguard the health of people living in such areas.
Ma Xiuzhen, a national political adviser from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, shared her views on how artificial intelligence could help foster new models of primary-level diagnosis and treatment.
"The foundation for on-the-ground medical and healthcare services must be further strengthened," Xi said in response, adding that places where conditions permit may explore the use of AI, but this should be done step by step to steadily build a stronger foundation for public healthcare.
The discussion moved from healthcare to primary-level medical services, and then to broader changes in health awareness.
As China's average life expectancy reached 79.25 years in 2025, up 1.32 years from 2020, Wang Lu, a national political adviser from the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, said the target set in the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) to raise the average life expectancy further to 80 years by 2030 is "both inspiring and motivating".
In response, Xi noted that "it is vital to foster healthy lifestyles and promote mass sports participation".
As the discussion drew to a close, Xi voiced his expectations for the advisers. "You should make full use of your professional strengths and contribute your wisdom and expertise to the building of a healthy China," he said.
