Foreign
China builds world’s largest healthcare service system

By Bai Jianfeng, People’s Daily
Health is closely tied to the well-being of every household and is essential for the future of a nation. In recent years, China’s healthcare system has seen remarkable strides toward high-quality development.
China has expanded high-quality medical resources to the primary level, ensuring that residents have access to nearby medical services. The country has established 13 national medical centers specializing in different fields and 125 regional medical centers in 29 provincial-level regions. This has led to a more balanced distribution of medical resources to better serve the public.
So far, 92 percent of the county-level hospitals across the country have met the standards for Grade-II hospitals in terms of medical service capacity. By the end of August this year, 90.9 percent of counties in China had sent staff members from county-level hospitals to township health centers.
Besides, China has pushed for coordinated reforms in medical services, medical insurance and pharmaceuticals.
The country has stopped the practice of raising prices of medicines and medical supplies to make up for low medical service costs since 2012. It has introduced a new system centered around medical services. Chinese public hospitals are now only funded by government allocations and medical service fees, highlighting the non-profit nature of medical services.
Furthermore, China has strengthened the training of healthcare professionals, with over 80,000 rural students becoming medical professionals through government-funded programs by the end of last year, providing rural areas with skilled professionals.
Each year, over half a million Chinese students complete their medical studies at the undergraduate level or higher, injecting fresh momentum into the development of the healthcare sector. China has built the most extensive healthcare service system in the world with 12.48 million technical professionals in the national health system.
Basic medical services are now easily available in impoverished areas at the village and township levels in China, which no longer suffer from inadequate healthcare institutions and personnel. By 2023, the average life expectancy of Chinese residents reached 78.6 years, an increase of more than three years compared to 2012.
China attaches equal importance to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, leveraging their respective strengths to achieve coordinated development. The country has launched multiple initiatives to promote the integration of Chinese and Western medicine by improving institutions, creating new models and cultivating talents, achieving notable results.
China is making efforts to build a high-quality and efficient TCM service system. The country has advanced the construction of national TCM service centers, established 27 regional TCM medical centers, and designated 1,158 national-level TCM specialty departments. These initiatives have expanded the accessibility to quality medical resources and ensured a more balanced resource distribution.
Additionally, China has supported the development of 130 city-level hospitals with TCM specialties, and over 1,000 county-level hospitals have been encouraged to set up two advantageous TCM departments and one promotional center for TCM techniques.
The China Center for Evidence Based Traditional Chinese Medicine has become part of the International Traditional Medicine Clinical Trial Registry (ITMCTR), which is recognized as a primary registry of the World Health Organization (WHO) and contributes data to the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). The center has released a series of treatments, techniques, and highly effective herbal medicines for diseases where TCM has advantages.
In terms of talent development, China has implemented a national training initiative for TCM specialists. The number of licensed TCM practitioners in the country had reached 868,000 by the end of last year.
To effectively prevent and manage infectious disease outbreaks, China has developed a comprehensive infectious disease monitoring and early warning system.
In recent years, the country has established 10 monitoring systems for various infectious diseases and initiated monitoring of 15 common respiratory pathogens, providing vital support for clinical treatment and epidemic control.
China is also developing an infectious disease monitoring and emergency command information platform, installing intelligent monitoring and early warning software in Grade-II and higher-level medical institutions nationwide.
So far, China has established an advanced pathogen detection system that can identify over 300 known pathogens within 24 hours and effectively recognize new pathogens within 60 hours.
Twenty-three provinces across the country have built biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratories, and all provincial-level and 90 percent of city-level disease control centers have the capability to detect and isolate viruses.
By the end of this year, the number of Chinese national emergency response teams for acute infectious diseases will increase to 25, and all cities and counties in China will have infectious disease response units at the primary level.
Foreign
Trump begins mass layoffs at Voice of America

The Trump administration has initiated sweeping layoffs at Voice of America (VOA) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, effectively dismantling institutions long seen as critical for American influence abroad.
On Sunday, contractors working for VOA received an email notification that their employment would be terminated by the end of March. “You must cease all work immediately and are not permitted to access any agency buildings or systems,” the email read, according to multiple staff members who confirmed the development.
The move, which comes just a day after all employees were placed on administrative leave, disproportionately affects non-English-language services, where contractors make up a significant portion of the workforce. Many of these contractors are not U.S. citizens and may now face visa issues, further complicating their status in the country.
While most full-time staff remain employed for now, they have been told not to work, leaving VOA and its sister organizations in a state of uncertainty. Some services, unable to produce new programming, have resorted to playing music.
VOA, founded during World War II, has been a critical tool for U.S. public diplomacy, broadcasting in 49 languages to audiences in countries where press freedom is restricted. However, President Trump signed an executive order on Friday targeting its parent organization, the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as part of broader federal budget cuts.
The cuts extend beyond VOA, affecting other U.S.-funded media entities such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Radio Farda (which broadcasts in Persian to Iran), and Alhurra, an Arabic-language network launched after the 2003 Iraq invasion. The administration argues that taxpayers should not fund what it calls “radical propaganda,” despite VOA’s longstanding editorial independence.
Liam Scott, a VOA journalist covering press freedom and disinformation, expressed concern over the decision. “I’ve covered press freedom for a long time, and I’ve never seen something like what’s happened in the U.S. over the past couple of months,” he wrote on social media.
The move has drawn international attention, particularly from China and Russia, which have been expanding their own state-funded media efforts. The Chinese state-run *Global Times* reacted with an editorial declaring that “the monopoly of information held by traditional Western media is being shattered.”
Trump’s administration has pursued aggressive cuts across federal agencies, including eliminating most foreign aid and significantly reducing the Department of Education. With input from tech billionaire Elon Musk, Trump has focused on reducing government size to facilitate tax cuts.
As the global media landscape shifts, the dismantling of U.S.-funded broadcasters leaves a vacuum that could be filled by rival state-controlled networks. Whether Congress or legal challenges will intervene remains to be seen, but for now, the future of America’s international broadcasting efforts hangs in the balance.
Foreign
Judge blocks Trump from deporting non-citizens using wartime law

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s attempt to deport migrants allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua under a wartime law.
US District Judge James Boasberg issued a restraining order preventing the administration from using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel undocumented migrants accused of gang ties. The order initially protected five individuals challenging the deportation but was later expanded to all affected noncitizens in US custody.
Boasberg also directed that any planes carrying these migrants be returned to the United States. “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned,” he ruled. The restraining order will remain in effect for 14 days or until further court action.
The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act, citing Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization that has “unlawfully infiltrated the United States” and is engaging in hostile actions. However, civil rights groups, including the ACLU, argue that the gang’s activities do not meet the legal definition of an invasion.
The Justice Department has appealed the ruling, while the case continues in court.
Foreign
China’s new chapter in global innovation

By Gu Yekai, Liu Yiqing, People’s Daily
At a smart construction project site managed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a quiet technological revolution is underway. Amid cranes and concrete, engineers are deploying advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems that could fundamentally reshape the construction industry.
Li Fengjian, an AI specialistwith Xianyuan Technology, detailed how the company’s latest intelligent system – built on a large model – adapts to complex construction environments.”Engineering machinery equipped with intelligent agents can adjust its operations automatically in response to weather conditions,” Li explained, adding that a spatiotemporal sensing network further enhances the system, providing real-time tracking of both personnel and materials throughout the construction site.
In February this year, Xianyuan Technology rapidly integrated its self-developed model with DeepSeek-R1, effectively blending a general-purpose framework with industry-specific models. This integration, Li noted, has produced a solution capable of delivering expert-level performance in challenging, dynamic environments. The firm is based in the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center, aburgeoning AI incubator that now hosts over 200 innovative enterprises.
China’s technological transformation extends well beyond the construction sector. Overthe past three decades, the country has evolved from its initial forays into internet connectivity to becoming a key player in global digital innovation.
Here, a steady stream of technological innovations are emerging, from the early days of emails and web browsing to the cutting-edge technologies represented by DeepSeek and the dynamic evolution of social media.
Wu Jianping, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and headof the Zhongguancun Laboratory, pointed out that while China had introduced only one internet standard before 2005, it now contributes to over 200 worldwide. Such strides illustrate the country’s concerted push toward high-level technological self-reliance – a journey marked by both persistence and determination.
Beyond the digital realm, China is makingsignificant inroads in aerospace, new energy, and other high-tech sectors. It has transitioned from being a follower to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with global leaders, and in some areas, even taking the lead. Wu attributed these achievements to a dynamic ecosystem of policy reforms and talent cultivation that encourages creativity and technical expertise at every level.
Amid intensifying international competition, collaborative research and the integration of new technologies with traditional industries are central to China’s high-quality economic development.
Mei Linhai, a researcher at China’s State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Intelligence, remarked that the age of AI calls for continuous exploration. “In this era, everyone is an innovator. Only by persistently pushing the boundaries can we remain at the forefront of both technological and industrial development,” Mei observed.
In the field of general-purpose AI, Mei emphasized that independent innovation is paramount. He advocates for a self-driven industrial ecosystem that leveragesbreakthrough technologies to boost productivity and unlock new possibilities, Mei said.
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