Photo: Li Hao/GT

 
A number of international healthcare firms brought cutting-edge tech and products for epidemic prevention and public health to display at the 4th China International Import Expo on Friday, the first day of the six-day event, showing their high expectations and confidence in the Chinese market.

In the 70,000-square-meter exhibition area for medical equipment and healthcare products, many well-known international firms showcased their latest products and services, including German health technology company Siemens Healthineers, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and US medical devices company Abbott.

The healthcare section appears to have attracted most attention from consumers, partly because of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, which has raised health awareness among the public. Visitors can experience cutting-edge tech such as air purification and disinfection equipment, which can remove and inactivate viruses including COVID-19.

A total of 14 international firms in the healthcare section will debut their products at the expo. Most of the firms feel that CIIE provides a unique platform and opportunity to promote economic cooperation and that it can boost Chinese and foreign investors' confidence as well.

US drug maker Pfizer has launched more than 60 innovative drugs and vaccines in China since it entered the market in 1989, Che Yan, vaccine marketing lead at Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group China, told the Global Times on Friday. The company debuted its 20-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine, which was recently approved by the US, at the expo.

The company has worked with healthcare institutions to disseminate millions of educational materials through social media platforms to remind the general public of the importance of vaccination, Che said.

Benefiting from the expanding CIIE effect, French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi has accelerated its introduction of innovative products and vaccines. From 2020 to 2025, Sanofi expects to bring "over 25 innovative medicines and vaccines to China," Pius S. Hornstein, head of Sanofi China, told the Global Times.

China has never stopped its steps to improve the domestic medical system. Early in 2016, China's State Council issued the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint to guide sectors including public health services and the medical industry. 

Having been rooted in China for 27 years, Swiss drugmaker Roche upgraded its exhibition area to 1,000 square meters this year. It will present over 10 new drugs covering many sectors including broad-spectrum oncology, hematology and rare diseases. 

China will further shorten the market access negative list for foreign investors and expand the opening-up process in an orderly manner for sectors including healthcare. It will continue to "create massive cooperation opportunities" and will "raise the world's expectations" for the Chinese market to open up at a higher level, Vivian Bian, CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals China, told the Global Times.

China has become the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market, and it has attracted a lot of top talent in the healthcare industry. Roche has developed its Shanghai branch into its third-largest research and development strategic center in the world, after Basel in Switzerland and San Francisco in the US.