Beijing, June 8 (People’s Daily) (Reporter Li Hongmei) Recently, Professor Li Ling from the China Health Development Research Center of Peking University released the National Health Vision Report at a seminar held by the center. The study estimated that in 2012, the number of people with myopia and hyperopia in China’s total population over the age of 5 was about 500 million, with the total number of people with myopia at around 450 million. It is conservatively estimated that the social and economic costs caused by various types of vision defects in 2012 will be as high as about 560 billion yuan, accounting for up to about 1.1% of GDP. Among them, the total population suffering from high myopia is as high as 30 million. The prevalence of myopia among both high school and college students is over 70% and increasing year by year, and the prevalence of myopia among adolescents is already the highest in the world. Without effective policy intervention, by 2020, the prevalence of myopia among people over 5 years old in China will grow to about 51%, and the number of people with the disease will reach 700 million. By then, the labor force meeting the vision requirements in the aerospace, precision manufacturing, military and other industries may face a huge shortage, which will directly threaten the sustainable economic and social development of China as well as national security. The report points out that the widespread use of electronic products has made visual health threats more prominent. China is facing a more serious visual health crisis than Western countries. Li Ling suggests that public policies should be formulated systematically, drawing on Singapore’s experience to link youth visual health with national development and public security, and to make reducing youth myopia a priority in the 13th Five-Year Plan. Secondly, visual health should be incorporated into the national health protection plan. Finally, we should strengthen the supporting measures of social promotion and talent training on visual health.