The 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE), entering its fourth day on Friday, has held 102 side events including business matchmaking sessions, investment promotion activities, and numerous forums geared toward strengthening international collaboration and economic engagement.
Since the expo's opening, procurement and investment signings have been taking the center stage, with Chinese and international participants eagerly forging new partnerships. Among the highlights, China's central state-owned enterprises (SOEs) trade delegation, National Health Commission delegation, and local trade delegations have organized 86 major signing events, landing nearly 600 cooperation agreements.
The central SOEs have achieved a record-high total intended transaction amount at the CIIE, with agreements encompassing a diverse range of sectors, including advanced technology, artificial intelligence, high-end components, and natural gas.
In addition to procurement and trade activities, this year's CIIE has convened the main Hongqiao International Economic Forum, themed "High-Standard Opening up for Universally Beneficial and Inclusive Economic Globalization," as well as various sub-forums, roundtable discussions, meetings with foreign enterprises, and "Invest in China" promotion events
The CIIE is also facilitating connections between visiting business representatives and exhibitors through a 'group tour' service. Over 4,800 attendees have engaged with approximately 1,900 exhibitors via more than 280 organized group tours.
Running from November 5 to 10, the 7th CIIE has attracted 3,496 exhibitors from 129 countries and regions.
CIIE hosts over 100 side events to strengthen collaboration
CIIE hosts over 100 side events to strengthen collaboration
China has taken a significant step toward high-level opening up in its medical sector with the launch of the country's first fully foreign-owned hospital in the northern port city of Tianjin.
The move, part of a broader policy shift announced late last November, allows foreign investors to establish hospitals in selected major cities, complementing the domestic healthcare system and addressing unmet needs.
The 1,000-bed hospital, named Perennial General Hospital Tianjin, opened on February 26, represents an investment of about one billion yuan (roughly 139 million U.S. dollars) by Singapore's Perennial Holdings Private Limited.
The hospital offers comprehensive medical services to meet the diagnosis and treatment needs of both common and complex diseases. It also has an international department that provides customized healthcare services -- including health management and chronic disease management.
Liu Dan, president of the hospital, emphasized the hospital's role in enhancing local healthcare options.
"We are a strong complement to the Tianjin medical and elderly care market. We utilize our own strengths to spur the market potential, as well as to address the unmet needs of the public. At the same time, we are internationalized. We work on global standards to provide patients with second treatment opinions from experts in Europe and America," said Liu.
To integrate into the local market, the hospital plans to accept national medical and commercial insurance as payment options, while also focusing on quality care for seniors to meet the demands of an aging population.
The hospital's opening aligns with broader healthcare challenges in China, where public hospitals face a staffing gap of around one million, and primary healthcare institutions are short by 50 percent, according to the 2025 Chinese Government Work Report. Last year, the government introduced a pilot policy permitting wholly foreign-owned hospitals in select cities, marking a significant shift in foreign investment restrictions.
Perennial Holdings, the company behind the hospital, sees this as part of a strategic vision to serve high-end customers and promote medical tourism.
"We have been in China for over 20 years, so we fundamentally believe that this healthcare we are doing, we are complement to public hospitals, we are utilizing better medical resources. We are going to serve the high-end customers. And also we are going to create what we call medical tourism. Our strategy is to invest in the capital cities or the first and second-tier cities. In all these cities, there will be multinational corporations, top corporations that the top-tier customer -- they are used to (high-end) service. Today, many of them go overseas to see medical services, they should be the ones who stay in China. At the same time, our intent is to organize all these medical resources. And we want to capture foreign medical resources into China," said Pua Seck Guan, executive chairman and chief executive officer of Perennial Holdings.
Beyond investment opportunities, experts see the opening as a driver of institutional change.
"This is a great start. I believe that a series of institutional opening up policies may be introduced in the future, including those in the financial industry and high-tech industries," said Guo Yingfeng, a researcher at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.
While challenges remain for fully foreign-owned hospitals, their emergence represents a significant step toward greater openness in China's medical sector, offering new healthcare models and opportunities for both local and international stakeholders.
China opens first fully foreign-owned hospital
