"Reforming the medical care system is a long-term task, toward which the public has high expectations. Chinese government officials should keep a low profile and work responsibly toward these reforms," Chen Zhu, Minister of Health as well as a member of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told CHINANEWS.COM.

The US spends 16 percent of its total GDP on medical and health care services, but the American public is still dissatisfied, Chen said, citing the US as an example. The minister believed that the medical care system reform was a global issue. Each nation in the global village should carry out reforms based on their unique national strengths.

The Chinese government will increase its financial input in improving the country's public health system. This will be covered in the Government Work Report presented by Premier Wen Jiabao to the First Session of the 11th National People's Congress, China's parliament, on March 5, according to Chen.

As a member of the CPPCC National Committee and a senior official, Chen will be very busy during the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a top advisory body in China. Chen is the first minister without party affiliation in China over the past 30 years. He is serious, pragmatic and low-pitched. "We should understand that life and quality of life are important strategic investments," the minister once said.

(China.org.cn by Yang Xi, March 3, 2008)