HOHHOT - Senior legislator Cai Dafeng has called for consistent efforts in the prevention and control of infectious diseases to build a Healthy China.

Cai, vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, made the remarks during a trip to North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

He asked for awareness of the significance of preventing and controlling infectious diseases for economic and social development, as well as for national security and stability.

"The healthcare policy with the emphasis on prevention must be stuck to, in order to ensure the physical health and safety of the people," according to Cai.

He also highlighted the role of inspection to help implement the law on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, so as to provide a favorable legal environment for the Healthy China initiative.

Cai's trip was a part of a round of inspections on the implementation of the aforementioned law conducted by the NPC Standing Committee, which was announced on May 4 and will run until mid-June. The law was enacted in 1989 and revised in 2004 and 2013.

A total of 19,796 people died from infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland in 2017, according to official figures.