China will strengthen its development of a health system to cope with public health emergencies and major epidemics, a senior health official said on Monday.

Guo Yanhong, an official with the National Health Commission, said it has issued its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) on medical services and relief for emergencies.

The COVID-19 epidemic has made people realize the importance of emergency medical treatment. Apart from public health emergencies, China is also a country with frequent natural disasters, the official said.

After almost 20 years of efforts, China's ability to handle public health emergencies has improved, she said.

The country will improve the command system for medical emergencies and improve its mobilization and assistance mechanism for medical resources during major epidemics and disasters, Guo said.

The country will also establish national medical aid bases for emergencies and a national control base for major epidemics, and will increase the capacity of the national emergency medical team, Guo said.

Twenty national emergency medical teams will be established by 2025. They will be in charge of providing medical treatment in their assigned regions and assisting other regions during major epidemics, she added.