The head of a leading Swedish company in precision radiation therapy solutions has affirmed the group's commitment to investing and developing products on the China market while hailing the country's efforts to expand high-quality opening-up while attending the ongoing 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
Gustaf Salford, President and CEO of Elekta, a global medical radiation device manufacturer, is one of the many participants at the six-day CIIE which opened on Tuesday, attracting participants from 152 countries, regions and international organizations under the theme of "New Era, Shared Future."
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Salford said that Elekta has been deeply involved in the Chinese market, particularly as artificial intelligence becomes more prominent, continuously bringing forth new ideas to cater to the vast and changing demands of the Chinese market.
"We've been here for seven years, and I think it's been a fantastic partnership and platform for Elekta. Because it's a way seeing that China is opening up and we are investing in China, but we develop products here in China, both for China, but also for the world. So, for example, our latest products have a lot of AI and software input that we then will introduce into our products and then introduce to Chinese hospitals and Chinese cancer patients. And there's a big need, and I think CIIE is the best platform in order to make that happen, to form those partnerships," he said.
The business leader also commended China for continuing to relax restrictions on foreign investments, which came after the State Council approved its 2024 version of the negative list for foreign investment access.
Jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and coming into effect on Nov 1, the new negative list reduced the number of restrictions from 31 to 29, achieving zero restrictions on the manufacturing sector.
"I very much welcome it, because I think it will attract more investment from international companies into listed Chinese companies. And for us, it's very interesting because we have been investing in non listed companies in China and for joint ventures, but I think this is another way for international companies to invest, but also to add and increase global trade and investments across borders," said Salford.
Looking ahead, Salford also shared his vision for Elekta's development in China, saying the firm aims to update facilities and cultivate talents based on the entire industrial chain.
"We have a very long-term strategy, because we know that health care and cancer care and cancer patients, they do not wait. So, we need to be here with the latest technology, AI-enabled to help those patients to deal with their cancers and create hope as well for patients all around China. So, we will invest in manufacturing. We will invest in the best product development and software development. We will invest in new partnerships, in joint ventures, on education and training to train more doctors, more nurses, more medical physicists to take care of the patients," he said.
CIIE bolsters int'l medical device maker's confidence on China's opening-up policy
