An automated external defibrillator is seen in a metro station in Beijing. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING -- China will beef up efforts to install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places, according to a guideline recently released by the National Health Commission.

Public venues with a large flow of people and relatively enclosed places that lack access to prompt pre-hospital emergency medical aid services will be given priority to deploy AEDs, according to the document.

The apparatus should be installed in a fixed position that is conspicuous and easy to find and access, with unified signs, the guideline says.

Places already equipped with AEDs should mark them on the sketch map and set up guide signs to provide location information at major entrances and exits, as well as placement areas of AEDs, it adds.

AEDs are medical devices used to help people experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.