Salt intake has been on the decline in China since 2000, but it currently is still nearly twice the amount recommended by the World Health Organization, a new study said on Tuesday. Published in the US journal Jama, the study was based on total diet surveys in 2000, and from 2009-2011 in 12 of China's 31 mainland provinces, covering at least 46 percent of the Chinese population.

The researchers found the average dietary salt consumption of Chinese residents declined by 22.2 percent, from 11.8 grams per day in 2000 to 9.2 grams per day in 2009.

"If we continue on the current pace, it's possible for China to achieve the target proposed by the World Health Organization to reduce average daily salt consumption by 30 percent by 2030," says lead author Wu Yongning of the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment.