The fund, worth 22 million yuan ($3.13 million) and provided by pharmaceutical multinational AstraZeneca, will explore real-world clinical studies of the Chinese population and diagnosis and treatment models suitable for China to contribute to the Healthy China 2030 Initiative, according to the foundation.

Qin Shukui, chairman of the foundation, said that frontline doctors throughout the country can submit their research project proposals to the foundation over the next four months and rigorous reviews will be implemented to select about 52 projects.

"We want to give more opportunities to doctors under 45 years old and require that they churn out high-quality research papers and results with medical figures specific to Chinese patients," he said.

Li Jin, former chairman of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology, said that China has accelerated its pace of being integrated into the world’s new drug development in recent years, from which Chinese medical professionals’ experience in both clinical practice and clinical research has been enriched.

"Chinese clinical research will attract more attention internationally and better contribute to the world’s medical advances in the future," he said.

Yin Min, general manager of oncology at AstraZeneca China, said that the company is committed to exploring pathogenic mechanisms, treatment methods and innovative drugs to bring changes to the medical industry and help promote scientific progress in the oncology field.

Yang Haiying, vice-president and head of medical affairs at AstraZeneca China, said that the company anticipated supporting clinical and translational medicine research in areas such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy, through the fund to better benefit cancer patients.