Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains one of the most pressing public health challenges in China, and a major priority for national infectious disease control.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), an estimated 75 million people in the country are living with chronic HBV – roughly one-third of the global total. As chronic hepatitis B can progress silently to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, early intervention, screening and population-wide protection have become urgent public health priorities.

This urgency aligns with World Hepatitis Day, marked annually on July 28. This year's theme "Let's break it down" reflects the push to meet WHO's 2030 target of eliminating viral hepatitis as a major public health threat. 

For China, connecting early prevention and community screening with advancing treatment options will remain essential to closing the final gaps in viral hepatitis control.

Fortifying early protection: Newborn immunization safeguard

China's defense against HBV was historically rooted in early childhood immunization. Since incorporating the hepatitis B vaccine into its national immunization program in 1992 and establishing free newborn vaccination in 2005, the nation has built a highly effective pediatric safeguard.

According to Yao Fengli, a pediatric specialist at the Fifth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital, infants infected under age one face up to a 90% risk of developing chronic HBV. Administering the birth dose within 24 hours, followed by secondary doses at one and six months, remains the primary barrier against mother-to-child transmission.

Long-term monitoring data reflects the impact of these policies. The coverage rate for the full three-dose hepatitis B vaccination series among newborns has climbed to 99.6%, while the timely birth-dose rate reached 95.6% compared with the global average of 85%.

As a result, the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among children under five has dropped to 0.3%, while overall prevalence among individuals aged 1 to 69 has fallen to 5.86%, China CDC data shows.

Addressing adult vulnerabilities and screening gaps

Despite these achievements, gaps remain in adult immunization. Data from a 2011-2021 study published in the journal Vaccines, shows that the average hepatitis B vaccination rate among Chinese adults was only 26.27%, dropping to 17.09% for individuals over 40.  

Many adults remain unaware of their infection status until liver disease reaches an advanced stage, noted Pan Hongying, head of infectious diseases at Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, who emphasized the importance of regular blood screening and adult catch-up doses.

To address these gaps, nine government departments jointly issued a national action plan (2025–2030) for viral hepatitis control. The plan outlines a life-cycle approach combining sustained pediatric coverage with expanded adult screening and community-level access.

At the primary care level, local health centers are reforming service delivery. In Zhejiang Province, community clinics are testing a "one-stop consultation model" where general practitioners assess clinical needs, lifestyle risk and vaccination status in a single visit, offering medical care alongside dietary guidance and vaccination referrals.

Therapeutic breakthroughs and expanding treatment options

Concurrently with these efforts, vaccine diversification and therapeutic breakthroughs are reshaping the landscape. The return of imported hepatitis B vaccines to the Chinese market – with initial doses administered in Yunnan and Shanxi Province – offers families and adults broader options for long-term protection alongside high-quality domestic vaccines.

On the therapeutic front, hepatitis treatment is benefiting from a broader surge in domestic pharmaceutical innovation. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 38 innovative drugs were approved for market launch in China in the first half of 2026, with domestic innovations accounting for over 80%. Among them was the world's first anti-hepatitis D virus (HDV) antibody drug, addressing a severe co-infection.

This domestic progress is mirrored by unprecedented international biopharma integration. National Medical Products Administration data shows that Chinese biopharmaceutical firms completed 81 overseas licensing deals valued at approximately $110 billion in the first six months of 2026 alone – reaching 80% of last year's total transaction volume.

Spanning 10 major therapeutic areas – including oncology, metabolic disorders, immunology and neurology – these deals primarily involved pharmaceutical acquirers from more than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Italy.