Chinese tech giant Tencent has joint the China Alliance of Rare Diseases to accelerate the study of rare diseases, according to China Science Daily Thursday.

Tencent will team up with the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, also a member of the alliance, to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for rare disease screening, according the paper.

They will also explore AI applications in rare disease diagnosis, treatment as well as the development of new drugs, the paper said.

In China, the number of people suffering from rare diseases is estimated to top 20 million. As most rare diseases are hereditary diseases, early screening is essential, experts say.

Tencent's efforts will allow more medical workers to use advanced information technology for rare diseases diagnosis, Li Linkang from the alliance told the newspaper.

The alliance was established in 2018 to gather resources from medical institutions, companies and social organizations in boosting the treatment of rare diseases in China.