(From left) Dr. Sun Wenn Xiao, chief executive officer of Oxford Oncology, David Kerr, professor of cancer medicine at the University of Oxford, Chen Lihua, chairwoman of the Fu Wah International Group, Zeng Yixin, vice-president of the Peking Union Medical College, and Zhao Yong, president of the Fu Wah International Group, at a ceremony signing a letter of intent for medical collaboration in Beijing on Nov 3. LU ZHONGQIU / CHINA DAILY

BEIJING - A planned "medical city" for east Beijing's Tongzhou district is eyeing the growing demand for high-quality medical services and has set a goal of becoming a medical tourism site.

"Since Chinese people are becoming richer and richer, their awareness of health is growing rapidly. That's why we are going to build a first-grade medical city," said Chen Lihua, chairwoman of the Fu Wah International Group, developer of the medical city.

Nearly 60,000 Chinese people go abroad annually for healthcare services, especially for cancer screening, giving birth and getting treatment for chronic diseases, according to earlier media reports.

But Chen's plan is to attract patients to her medical city instead.

"The medical city will include disease prevention centers, the best general hospitals, a nursing home and a health examination center," Chen said.

Though the cost and time needed for construction have not yet been set, she was determined to invest in the project because building the largest hospital in China is her "lifelong desire".

"As an international metropolis, Beijing should have such health centers that provide high-quality medical services and set a model for nearby cities," said Zeng Yixin, vice-president of the Peking Union Medical College and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Being able to provide high-quality medical services, especially curing complicated and chronic diseases, is essential," Zeng said. "Since we do not have much experience with high-quality health service in China, we can surely learn a lot through cooperation with foreign researchers."

David Kerr (L), professor of cancer medicine at the University of Oxford, makes a speech at a ceremony signing a letter of intent for medical collaboration in Beijing on Nov 3. LU ZHONGQIU / CHINA DAILY

Zeng Yixin, vice-president of the Peking Union Medical College makes a speech at a ceremony signing a letter of intent for medical collaboration in Beijing on Nov 3. LU ZHONGQIU / CHINA DAILY

As the first-stage project of the medical city, a cancer research center will be built for Chinese scientists to cooperate with Oxford experts on introducing target therapy to China. The therapy is a type of anti-cancer therapy that blocks the growth of cancer cells by interfering with specific targeted substances essential for tumor growth.

"Some of the treatments have been used in the West for many, many years before they come to China. Now we want to do trials both in the West and China, so this will hugely speed up getting the therapy and new drugs to Chinese citizens on time," said David Kerr, professor of cancer medicine at the University of Oxford.

Target therapy has been in clinical application in Western countries since 2003, and was proved more effective than current treatments and less harmful to normal cells than traditional methods.

Besides introducing the therapy, Kerr and his team will train Chinese doctors and nurses with their knowledge of tumors.

"Only 10 percent of the cancer patients who need drug therapy in China can get access to target therapy, which is lower than in the West," said Sun Yan, a professor of the Cancer Institute and Hospital under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

According to Sun, target therapy is effective for cancers like lung cancer, breast cancer and liver cancer, but it is more costly than chemotherapy, and some Chinese doctors do not know how to use it.

"We wish that every single patient who needs target therapy will have access to it," Sun said.