Science and technology will always serve the people, and make their lives easier, from cheaper housing and clothing to poverty-alleviation and entrepreneurship, according to a science and technology progress plan published by the State Council.

The plan lists science and technology targets for the 2016-2020 period, as well as the government actions needed to achieve the proposed results.

Centered on building a healthier China, the plan proposed that science and technology should help prevent and control big and chronic diseases, and solve major issues that affect people’s livelihood and national plans.

By 2020, China will strive to build a health security system that integrates treatment, care, recovery and nursing, which will provide a solid scientific support for building a healthier China, experts said.

China invented the first vaccine against enterovirus 71 (EV71), a primary cause of hand-foot-and-mouth disease, which added another safety net to the health of children, said Wang Junzhi, deputy director of the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control.

The plan is also aimed at pollution treatment in China, clearly recognizing developing ecological environmental protection technology and technology for high-efficiency recycling of resources as key tasks.

Pollution treatment is mainly focused on air pollution treatment and the protection of water environment.

Besides the medical aspects and environmental protection, the plan also stressed the importance of science and technology for mobile communications.

It said that implementing 5G core technology mobile communications will provide support for starting 5G for commercial use by 2020. China started the research in 2013, and standards for the first version are estimated to appear in 2018.

Net speed improvement is the most obvious change 5G will bring, but for ordinary users, that is not the only benefit.

The new mobile communication will shorten data transmission times, and bring virtual reality and hologram images to users.