Evidence-based medicine should be complemented by evidence-based implementation.

—Grol, R. and Grimshaw, J. (1999)

In 2018, the BMJ opened a special collection, analysing the evolution of medical research in China, with a paper entitled ‘Clinical practice guidelines in China’.1 Chen et al’s paper1 described the publication growth, low methodological quality, potential conflict of interest and poor implementation status of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) in China, and offered five recommendations for Chinese CPG development and implementation.

As researchers working in the field of implementation science, we feel that the paper’s aim was not fully realised due to the lack of discussion on guideline implementation. We argue that although high-quality guideline development is essential, researchers need to simultaneously focus on how to improve guideline implementation, especially when high-quality guidelines already exist and can be adopted as it is or can be adapted for the local context. It is time for Chinese evidence-based medicine (EBM) researchers and stakeholders to embrace and advance implementation science, answering questions on how guideline implementation can be optimised in varying contexts.