BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- The average life expectancy of Chinese people rose 42 years, from 35 years in 1949 to 77 years in 2018, according to a statistics communique recently released by the National Health Commission.

Life expectancy of Chinese people has been continuously increasing in recent years: from 76.34 years in 2015 to 76.5 years in 2016, to 76.7 years in 2017 and reaching 77 years in 2018.

From 2017 to 2018, the infant mortality rate has dropped from 6.8 to 6.1 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the maternal mortality rate decreased from 19.6 to 18.3 per 100,000 births, said the government statistics.

The communique also reported improvements in medical reform as more people seek treatment at primary-level clinics and the number of medical workers in China increases.

People's right to social security, especially in healthcare, has been extended, said a white paper titled "Progress in Human Rights over the 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up in China," published in 2018.

The coverage of the basic medical insurance has been expanding and the per capita basic medical insurance subsidy for urban and rural residents has been rising, it said.

China has been promoting the Healthy China initiative, which aims to improve the national health policy and ensure the delivery of comprehensive lifecycle health services for Chinese people.