The center will be under the Chinese Center for Disease Controland Prevention (CDC). It will focus on improving prevention measures against various chronic diseases in residential communities, according to Wednesday's China Daily, the country's main English-language newspaper.

    Chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular problems, caused 80 percent of deaths in China from 1991 to 2000, the paper quoted the ministry's statistics as saying.

    Lack of timely medical treatment and efficient prevention measures such as changing bad living habits and promoting public health education are the main reasons for the high incident rate of the chronic diseases.

    Wang Yu, director of both CDC and the new center, said that the chronic disease control center will collect and monitor the latest information on chronic diseases from around the country and spread update disease control advice from WHO.

    "WHO can gain experience from the center and enhance cooperation with the Chinese authorities through the joint disease control effort," Henk Bekedam, WHO representative in China, was cited as saying.