BEIJING -- The National Center for Respiratory Medicine was inaugurated in Beijing on July 26, the Health News reported Monday.

Located in the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, the center is expected to lead the development of respiratory medicine in China and pool the wisdom and strength of professionals in this sector, Wang Chen, the center's director, was quoted by the newspaper as saying. The center will strive to improve the country's respiratory disease prevention and treatment, Wang added.

Wang is also the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Zhou Changqiang, an official with the National Health Commission, said the center will help coordinate the country's respiratory disease prevention and treatment efforts and provide support for COVID-19 containment, especially in the late fall and winter.

Besides, the center will work to improve the prevention and treatment of other common respiratory diseases such as asthma, pneumonia and lung cancer, Zhou said.

The national center includes another part operating in the southern city of Guangzhou, the newspaper said.