The Chinese Government issued a white paper on December 26, 2012, saying that the country's medical and healthcare systems covering both urban and rural residents have taken shape.

The white paper, Medical and Health Services in China, was released by the State Council Information Office. It said that China has kept advancing the reform of its healthcare system to ensure that every resident has access to safe, effective, convenient and affordable services.

The white paper revealed that the health of the Chinese people is among the top in developing countries with an overall life expectancy of 74.8 years in 2010, 72.4 years for males and 77.4 years for females. China currently has about 260 million people who have been diagnosed with chronic diseases, which cause 85 percent of total deaths in the country.

The mortality rate of children under 5 has kept dropping from 34.9 per thousand in 2002 to 15.6 per thousand in 2011, ahead of the UN Millennium Development Goal schedule, the white paper said.

The infant mortality rate had dropped from 29.2 per thousand in 2002 to 12.1 per thousand in 2011, it said.