China ambitiously promised to provide safe, effective, and affordable health care services to all citizens. However, the national strategies for enhancing health remain patchy, and the policy frameworks to empower and inspire individuals and communities to pursue a healthy lifestyle are largely fragmented. The incoherency is well epitomized by China’s failure to implement key parts of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control treaty. We seek to advance constructive debate on the health care reform and national health development in China.