Key facts
- China is integrating AI into its healthcare system to enhance efficiency and accessibility.
- The country aims for a leading strategic position in AI industry applications by 2030.
- Approximately 300 medical large models have been released as of May 1, 2025.
- Remote medical imaging services have handled over 68 million cases at the county level.
- An AI system, "Agent Hospital," can perform diagnoses with over 93% accuracy in minutes.
- China's AI core industry was valued at over 1.2 trillion yuan ($174 billion) by 2025.
China is significantly advancing its AI-powered digital healthcare sector, aiming to enhance medical efficiency and broaden access to quality services. This initiative is a core component of national strategies, including the "Healthy China Initiative" and the "AI Plus Initiative."
The country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) emphasizes achieving a leading strategic position in AI industry applications, with biomedicine identified as a key emerging pillar industry. Government reports also highlight the encouragement of large-scale commercial AI applications in critical sectors.
AI is already transforming healthcare through applications like AI-assisted diagnosis, smart health platforms, and analysis of routine scans for early detection of diseases. Personalized cancer vaccines developed using AI are expected to be available soon. As of May 1, 2025, China had released around 300 medical large models, and remote medical imaging services at the county level had processed over 68 million cases.
Experts believe that digital technologies are crucial for improving healthcare delivery and reducing disparities in medical resources between urban and rural areas. The integration of AI is seen as a vital engine for developing new, high-quality productive forces within the health sector. Portable AI diagnostic devices are enabling remote patient monitoring, supporting tiered healthcare services and optimizing resource distribution.
Globally, healthcare systems face challenges from aging populations, chronic diseases, and unequal resource distribution, leading to a significant shortage of healthcare workers. AI is emerging as a critical solution. In China, the "Agent Hospital" system, developed by Tsinghua University’s Institute for AI Industry Research, can perform end-to-end diagnosis and treatment decisions across numerous departments and disease scenarios with high accuracy, completing tasks in minutes that would take human doctors hours. This system aims to "algorithmize expert experience" and serve as a "digital hub" for medical institutions, moving beyond single applications to systemic integration.
By 2025, China's AI core industry was valued at over 1.2 trillion yuan (approximately $174 billion), with the integration of big data, AI, IoT, and 5G expected to drive growth across the entire medical industry chain.