BEIJING -- China has strengthened performance management to push forward the reform of public hospitals, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) Monday.

In recent years, the country has gradually established a linkage mechanism between fund allocation and performance evaluation results of public hospitals, in order to improve the efficiency of hospital operation and the use of funds, said Fu Jinling, an official with the MOF.

The central government will further increase the weight of performance evaluation when allocating funds for public hospitals this year, Fu said.

Chinese authorities have continuously increased financial support for the country's public hospitals over the years.

MOF data showed that direct funds allocated by governments at all levels to public hospitals increased from 129.7 billion yuan (about $18.8 billion) in 2013 to 270.5 billion yuan in 2018, with an average annual growth rate of 15.8 percent.