An employee at GenSci checks out machines designed to purify water for pharmaceutical production purposes on Monday in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province. Photo: Chen Qingqing/GT

Claims that China is trying to dominate the US medicine sector are definitely exaggerated and unreasonable, Chinese analysts said, adding that US tariffs on some Chinese drug products will only hurt itself by increasing the costs and health care burdens of ordinary Americans.

The comments came after Rosemary Gibson, a US health care expert at the Hastings Center who wrote a book titled China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America's Dependence on China for Medicine, said recently that "China's aim is to disrupt, to dominate and displace American companies and harm our ability to make our own medicines," according to Fox Business.

Gibson pointed to the US' heavy reliance on imports of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), or drug raw material, from China, which she said poses a potential risk for US' national security.

Gibson's warning is totally exaggerated despite the fact that the US mainly imports API from China, Chinese analysts said.

Kang Zhen, deputy director of the licensed pharmacist development center at China Pharmaceutical University, told the Global Times on Monday that Chinese drugs that can enter the US market are mainly API, while some Chinese-produced pharmaceutical preparations are also needed by US drug producers.

"The US Food and Drug Administration has very strict requirements for drug imports and so far there are not many Chinese drug makers that have been approved," Kang said, noting that API exports volume to the US is comparatively small compared with the entire US drug market.

In 2018, China's API exports to the US totaled $4.27 billion, up 8.87 percent on a yearly basis. US drug imports in the year hit $72.8 billion, according to media reports.

It is undeniable that key ingredients for many essential drugs from antibiotics and birth control pills to treatments for cancer, depression, high cholesterol and HIV/AIDS are purchased from China, but that doesn't justify jumping to the conclusion that China is controlling the US market, said Li Tianquan, co-founder of domestic healthcare big data platform yaozh.com.

Li told the Global Times on Monday that China is a big pharmaceutical producing country but not a strong one at the moment. 

"We've stepped up medical research and innovation in recent years, but still lag behind the standards of US or European countries, so there is a long way to go," said Li.

A list of products subject to possible US tariffs on about $300 billion of Chinese imports will include cellphones and laptop computers but not pharmaceuticals and rare-earth elements, Reuters reported in May, citing the US Trade Representative's Office.

The list excluded Chinese-made pharmaceuticals, inputs for pharmaceuticals and select medical products.

"Tariff hikes will mean price increase for low-costs APIs that are mainly used for ordinary drugs, thus having an impact on US drug makers and consumers. This will increase the US national health care burden," said Li