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Primary health care (PHC) is the most effective way to improve people's health and well-being, and primary care services should act as the cornerstone of a resilient health system and the foundation of universal health coverage. To promote high quality development of PHC, an International Symposium on Quality Primary Health Care Development was held on December 4-5, 2023 in Beijing, China, and the participants have proposed and advocated the Beijing Initiative on Quality Primary Health Care Development. The Beijing Initiative calls on all countries to carry out and strengthen 11 actions: fulfill political commitment and accountability; achieve "health in all policies" through multisectoral coordination; establish sustainable financing; empower communities and individuals; provide community-based integrated care; promote the connection and integration of health services and social services through good governance; enhance training, allocation and motivation of health workforce, and medical education; expand application of traditional and alternative medicine for disease prevention and illness healing; empower PHC with digital technology; ensure access to medicinal products and appropriate technologies; and last, strengthen global partnership and international health cooperation. The Initiative will enrich the content of quality development of PHC, build consensus, and put forward policies for quality development of PHC in China in the new era, which are expected to make contributions in accelerating global actions., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This paper systematically reviewed the process of primary health care development of China over the past 45 years, and summarized the achievements of primary health care based on data related to primary health care draw from 2010-2012 China Health Statistics Year book, 2013-2017 China Health and Family Planning Statistical Yearbook and 2018-2022 China Health Statistics Year book. Data of the infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, and average life expectancy were from the World Bank in China and upper middle income countries in 2023. The development of primary health care of China was summarized into four phases, and the achievements included the improvement of the primary health care network, coverage expansion of basic health insurance, the increase of funding and coverage of basic public health services, the steady improvement of family doctor contracts, and the continuous improvement of women's and children's health, with major health indicators ranking among the top upper middle-income countries. The current challenges include the unbalanced development of infrastructure construction in the primary medical and health system, the decline in the proportion of medical insurance funds, the lack of vitality of the management system, the low level of remuneration and imperfect incentive system. This paper summarizes the enlightenment of international experience for China's primary health care, and puts forward the future development directions and strategies.