BEIJING -- Lawmakers called for measures to improve working conditions and salaries for primary-level medical doctors, when deliberating a medical doctor report in panel discussions at the ongoing session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

The report, submitted for deliberation to the top legislature's bimonthly session, says that China had nearly 3.61 million medical doctors as of the end of 2018.

Applauding China's progress in fostering medical doctors, the legislators noted the general shortage for and unbalanced distribution of medical doctors in the country, and gave advice on dealing with such problems.

More policy support and guarantee should be offered to medical doctors in rural areas, said Li Feiyue, who added that the rural doctor pay levels should also be improved.

Chen Zhu, vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said healthcare institutions at different levels should all have general practitioners, and called for incentive mechanisms to attract more talent to work as general practitioners.