CHENGDU, July 2 (Xinhua) -- More than 5.81 million Chinese people have been lifted out of illness-induced poverty, said Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission Monday.

Programs addressing poverty caused by illness are making positive progress, Ma told a working conference on poverty alleviation held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province.

Ma said China had been improving medical care services and favorable policies for people below the poverty line.

In 2017, the percentage of individual medical payments after reimbursement for people living below the poverty line was 16 percent, down 27 percentage points from 2016, according to Ma.

China is aiming to lift all people above the poverty line -- per capita annual income of 2,300 yuan (348 U.S. dollars) -- in rural areas by 2020.