BEIJING -- Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan has stressed the key role of the prevention of disease in furthering the reform of public hospitals.

Sun, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a three-day inspection in East China's Zhejiang province, which ended on May 22.

Speaking highly of the progress the province has made as a pilot region in the reform, she asked for efforts to bring high-quality medical resources closer to communities.

Inflated prices of medicine and medical facilities should be cut through measures such as centralized medicine procurement and price negotiations, in order to reduce the people's burden, she said.