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on september 8, the ministry of commerce, the national health commission and the national medical products administration issued the "notice on carrying out pilot work to expand opening-up in the medical field", which involves the opening of two major areas: biotechnology and wholly-owned hospitals. this is a major benefit for foreign medical investment in china.

the notice pointed out that foreign-invested enterprises are allowed to engage in the development and application of human stem cells, genetic diagnosis and treatment technologies in beijing, shanghai, guangdong free trade zones and hainan free trade port for product registration, listing and production. all products that have been registered, listed and approved for production can be used nationwide.

in addition, it is planned to allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals (except for traditional chinese medicine hospitals, and excluding mergers and acquisitions of public hospitals) in beijing, tianjin, shanghai, nanjing, suzhou, fuzhou, guangzhou, shenzhen and the entire island of hainan.

the industry welcomes the latest policy. a private hospital manager told the first financial reporter that my country has been very cautious about opening up wholly foreign-owned hospitals in the past few years, mainly due to the sensitivity of medical data. "the latest policy expresses the government's determination to further open up the medical field, which is a great benefit for institutions that plan to independently invest in chinese hospitals," he said.

the above-mentioned person also said that the opening of my country's medical field to foreign investment is gradual, and the latest document has not yet involved specific policy details. the follow-up will depend on the implementation of relevant policies in various cities and free trade zones, as well as foreign investors' willingness to invest in china. after all, the investment cost of a hospital is very high.

the founder of a health management organization told the first financial reporter that the chinese population has a very diverse demand for medical resources, and many high-end demands are far from being met. as more and more high-end medical institutions invest in china, they can also divert some of the needs of high-end patients and improve the development and progress of my country's overall medical level.

"although high-end private medical institutions have gradually developed over the past decade, these private hospitals still attract patients mainly through services," she told the yicai global reporter. "many difficult and complicated diseases require higher medical professionalism. medical institutions in developed countries abroad have relatively advantageous resources in this regard. whether in terms of experts, technology or drugs, they are very attractive."

the founder of the above-mentioned company also said that the current demand of chinese patients for high-end overseas medical services mainly comes from several areas, including major difficult and complicated diseases, regenerative medicine (tumor immunotherapy, stem cell therapy), post-stroke rehabilitation treatment, etc. japan, the united states and other places are their frequently chosen treatment destinations.

"currently, high-end private hospitals in china, such as jiahui and united family hospital, are mainly run by chinese parties. the establishment of wholly foreign-owned medical institutions means that foreign parties can introduce a whole set of systems and concepts, as well as cutting-edge technologies and equipment into china," she told china business news. "but whether this business model will be successful depends on whether foreign-funded institutions can obtain corresponding supporting policy support, such as whether the introduction of advanced drugs and equipment can enjoy a fast track."

in recent years, top foreign medical institutions have been eyeing the growth of china's high-end medical demand market. in june this year, mayo clinic, a well-known american medical institution, established its first office in china, located in shanghai united family hospital. both parties said that they will carry out long-term cooperation in joint treatment, international academic exchanges, clinical training and other aspects in the future, and enhance the accessibility of international cutting-edge medical technologies in china.

"after decades of continuous development, china's medical level has achieved remarkable results. in some areas of disease treatment, china's medical level is at the forefront of the world, and chinese doctors have very rich treatment experience." zhu tongyu, vice president of shanghai medical college of fudan university, told the first financial reporter, "but in some cutting-edge medical technologies, the united states is still ahead, and many of the latest technologies are promoted globally from the united states."

regarding the human stem cells, genetic diagnosis and treatment technologies that have recently been opened to foreign investment, zhu tongyu said that the treatment methods for cancer have undergone major changes, with the focus on precision medicine, immunotherapy and genomics, and that many new therapies will be born in this field in the future.

"introducing advanced medical institutions and innovative therapies is very valuable for benefiting patients and promoting the development of medicine in my country," he told the reporter from china business news. but he also pointed out that any international cooperation has both challenges and opportunities.

"it is a major challenge to coordinate the regulatory standards of different countries and simplify the approval process for new therapies so that patients around the world can access new therapies. in addition, how to share data from clinical trials and patient outcomes and establish an international database to support the effectiveness and safety of new therapies is also a direction that all parties need to explore in the future," said zhu tongyu.