South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region launches the disease control and prevention bureau on May 20, 2023. Photo: Guangxi Daily

Several Chinese provincial-level regions including North China's Tianjin and Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have launched disease control and prevention bureaus recently, as part of the country's efforts in enhancing the nation's post-epidemic health governance.

The establishment of Tianjin's disease control bureau marked the city's public health system construction standing at a new starting point, according to Tianjin authorities on Tuesday. The city will place increased priority on disease prevention, improve multi-channel and intelligent monitoring and early warning mechanisms that take into account both normal and emergency response, according to authorities.

Along with Tianjin, North China's Hebei Province, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Northwest China's Xinjiang all have launched the disease control and prevention bureaus. 

The National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention started operation on May 13, 2021, signaling that the country's disease control authorities' role was expanding to more areas including promoting public health and drafting disease prevention policies.

The bureau is vice ministerial-level under the National Health Commission, taking on the responsibility of promoting public health in a comprehensive manner and carrying out the work of drafting infectious disease control policies, according to analysts and media reports.