National Food and Drug Regulatory Working Conference was held in Beijing on January 12-13, 2006. This is an important conference held by the food and drug regulatory authorities in the first year of the 11th Five Year Plan period. The main mission of the conference is: having the scientific approach to development in command of the general situation of food and drug regulatory work, erecting the scientific supervision concept, reviewing and summarizing the work of 2005, specifying the overall thought for the work in the next five years and deploying key works in 2006.

Wu Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice-premier of the State Council, made important instructions and put forward guiding opinions to food and drug regulatory work in 2006.

Shao Mingli, secretary of the Party group and commissioner of the State Food and Drug Administration, made a work report at the opening ceremony of the conference. Shao emphasized: we must make the implementation of the spirit of the Fifth Session of the Sixteenth Central Committee of the Party and the spirit of the Central Economic Working Conference an important political task at present and for a future period, stick to making the scientific approach to development in command of the general situation of food and drug regulatory work, make the ensuring of public food and drug safety as central task, seriously implement the supervision functions from the height of constructing socialist harmonious society and boosting the coordinated economic and social development, better solve prominent problems harming public interest and safeguard the food and drug safety of the public.

In 2005, both the self-improvement and various supervision works of the food and drug regulatory authorities have obtained new progress: 1) constant upgrading of the quality of professional team; 2) new breakthroughs in food safety comprehensive supervision, progresses in strengthening organizational coordination and institutional building, deepening special rectifications, enhancing the efforts of supervision and examination of regulatory work, innovating work mechanism and carrying forward system reform; 3) further deepening of drug supervision work; 4) constant upgrading of the legislation level on food and drug regulation and further strengthening the legislation and law enforcement supervision; 5) smooth progress of the formulation of the 11th Five-year Plan and the stably advance of works of Planning for Infrastructure Building of Food and Drug Regulatory Authorities; 6) timely and high efficient controlling of human's catching of highly pathogenic avian influenza and timely promulgation and implementation of Special Procedures for Drug Approval, offering policy assurance for drugs required for coping with emergent public health incidents.

Shao Mingli fully affirmed the work in 2005, pointed out problems existed and expounded how to erect scientific supervision concept and the objectives and tasks in the 11th Five-Year Plan period. The overall objectives in the 11th Five-Year Plan period are: constant improvement of food and drug regulatory system and mechanism; forming of a rather complete laws and regulations system; further upgrading of the competence of carrying out official duties in accordance with the law; further strengthening of infrastructure and law-enforcing equipment; remarkably upgrading of the quality of the food and drug regulatory professional team; conspicuous improvement of the production and supply order of foods, drugs, medical devices and health foods; effective control of such illegal and criminal activities as production and sale of counterfeit and inferior foods and drugs; reduction of food and drug safety incidents by large extents and further guarantee of the food and drug safety of the people. The main tasks are: further upgrading food safety comprehensive supervision ability; further upgrading food safety guarantee level; further upgrading the quality of food and drug regulatory team; further intensifying the infrastructure construction for food and drug supervision; further speeding up the information technology application in food and drug supervision.

Shao Mingli required the key works in 2006: 1) strengthen infrastructure construction and improve regulatory conditions; 2) innovate mechanism and intensify the comprehensive supervision on food safety; 3) advance the "Two Networks" building in the countryside to develop in width and depth and boost the building of socialist new rural areas; 4) further rectify and standardize drug production and circulation order to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs; 5) standardize medical device management with institutional building as the key; 6) continue to do well the work of controlling human's catching of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Shao also put forward three requirements on the self-improvement of food and drug regulatory authorities: i.e. take efforts to fight corruption, build a clean government and intensify Party's work style building; implement talent strategy to all-roundly strengthen the professional team; improve the decision-making mechanism to upgrade the competence of carrying out official duties in accordance with the law.