China's announcement that it will further open up its medical sector is expected to enhance the capacity to provide diverse medical services and unlock the potential of the healthcare market, said industry insiders.
China's Ministry of Commerce, the National Health Commission, and the National Medical Products Administration issued a joint statement on Sunday to launch pilot projects aimed at expanding openness in the medical sector.
According to the statement, foreign-invested enterprises are also allowed to carry out the development and application of technologies relating to human stem cells and gene diagnosis and treatment in the pilot free-trade zones in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, as well as in the Hainan Free Trade Port, for the registration, launch and production of relevant products.
China also plans to allow wholly foreign-owned hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai and seven other cities and regions, including Tianjin, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and the entire island of Hainan, the statement said.
According to Guo Liyan, deputy director of the Economic Research Institute of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NRDC), expanded openness in the medical sector will diversify health services to meet personalized demands, break down market barriers, and unleash the potential of the healthcare and elderly care markets.
"The pilot work of expanding opening-up in industries such as biotechnology and medical care not only reflects the goal of building China into the world's factory, and even the world's design, research, and development center to enhance the competitiveness of our industrial chain in biotechnology, but also meets the demands for medical and health care services as our population and income increase. It is an opening-up move that kills two birds with one stone," said Xing Ziqiang, chief economist at Morgan Stanley China.
Foreign companies have also expressed keen interest in the pilot measures for expanded openness, hoping to further engage with the Chinese market.
"What we do is to develop very personalized treatment for people with cancer. So if you think that we are a foreign company bringing our technology here that, in the end, is going to help cancer patients in China, I think it's a win-win for everybody," said Nahuel Villegas, chief scientific officer at Vivan Therapeutics.
China's expanded openness in health sector diversifies medical services, unlocks potential
