The National Center for Respiratory Medicine, established in a major hospital in Beijing on Sunday, is expected to play a leading role in improving the prevention, control and treatment of respiratory diseases in China.

The center, set up at China-Japan Friendship Hospital after approval from the National Health Commission, aims to become a world-class institute in the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases while offering education and training and conducting scientific research on such diseases.

Meanwhile, it will contribute to promoting a more balanced distribution of medical resources related to respiratory diseases in China. It will also provide policy advice to the government on the prevention and control of such illnesses, and on coping with major public health emergencies such as new respiratory infectious diseases, the hospital said.

Wang Chen, director of the center and president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said respiratory diseases－which include both infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and chronic diseases－h(huán)ave placed a significant health burden on China, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to improve the control and prevention of such diseases.

"Of all infectious diseases, respiratory diseases are the most difficult to prevent and control," he said. "They have caused disasters throughout human history, from the black death in Europe to more recent epidemics such as SARS(severe acute respiratory syndrome), MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Development of the center will include training and the cultivation of talent so that it becomes well-known internationally, Wang said.

Cao Bin, vice-president of China-Japan Friendship Hospital and deputy director of the center, said with COVID-19 likely to coexist with humans in the long run, the center will also contribute to prevention and control of the disease in Beijing and other areas.