Illustration: Xia Qing/GT

Global biomedical companies, including Novo Nordisk, are welcome to step up cooperation with China, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said on Wednesday when meeting with Helge Lund, chair of the company's board of directors, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

By continuously deepening its reform and expanding its high-level opening-up, China will provide huge development opportunities for enterprises from all over the world, including Novo Nordisk, Han said.

China prioritizes its people's health. It has built the world's largest basic health care insurance network and its average life expectancy continues to rise, Han said, welcoming Novo Nordisk and other leading biomedical companies to step up cooperation with China, per Xinhua.

Lund spoke highly of the achievements China's economic and social development has seen in recent years, stating that the company will cultivate the Chinese market further, expand investment in China and achieve win-win results.

Also on Wednesday, Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), met with Lund, and exchanged views on promoting international cooperation in industrial and supply chains, supporting Novo Nordisk to deepen its presence in the Chinese market, and expanding investment in China, according to the CCPIT. 

Along with economic development and rising living standards, China is making fast progress in the field of innovative pharmaceuticals in recent years, and a number of multilateral drug companies have stepped up efforts to set up research and development (R&D) centers in the country.

In March, US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer opened a new R&D center at BioPark in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca signed an agreement in the same month to invest $2.5 billion in Beijing over the next five years, including the establishment of a global strategic R&D center in the city, according to Xinhua.

Chinese authorities approved 43 innovative drugs in the first half of 2025, marking a 59 percent year-on-year increase and nearly matching the total of 48 approvals for all of last year, CCTV News reported in July, citing data from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).

Many of the 43 innovative drugs approved for market launch are for serious conditions such as cancer, metabolic disorders and immune diseases, the report said.

Global Times