Over 90 Total Lots Up For Auction at One Location - WA 04/08

Is China the new frontier for medical equipment manufacturers?

by Thomas Dworetzky, Contributing Reporter | July 28, 2015
Business Affairs CT Medical Devices MRI X-Ray
Look out General Electric, Philips, and Siemens. The Chinese government plans to pump up its own medical manufacturing sector to take on global powerhouses, especially in its own exploding domestic health care market, which is now dominated by foreign firms.

At present, the country has a huge demand for health care, according to a June report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Horror stories abound of Chinese citizens at their wits' end over coverage. One headline, from a 2014 Time article on the subject, shows just how critical getting care can be: "This Man Amputated His Own Leg: That’s How Bad China’s Health Care Crisis Is."
stats
DOTmed text ad

We repair MRI Coils, RF amplifiers, Gradient Amplifiers and Injectors.

MIT labs, experts in Multi-Vendor component level repair of: MRI Coils, RF amplifiers, Gradient Amplifiers Contrast Media Injectors. System repairs, sub-assembly repairs, component level repairs, refurbish/calibrate. info@mitlabsusa.com/+1 (305) 470-8013

stats
As the nation focuses on expanding access and increasing affordability of care for its huge populations, however, the dependency on foreign imports may be changing. It's part of a national manufacturing program known as "Made in China 2025," according to China Times.

"'Made in China 2025' is an initiative to comprehensively upgrade Chinese industry," according to CSIS. Its report noted that this Chinese program was inspired by Germany's "Industry 4.0" plan, adopted in 2013.

Like the German effort, the core idea is to focus on so-called "intelligent manufacturing," which applies information technology to production, such as the Internet of Things, the networking of far-flung devices, to permit global production and innovation both for efficient mass production and customization.

“If we cannot make products with good quality and brands, China cannot become a manufacturing powerhouse as we hope,” said Sha Nansheng, vice director of the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Industry and Telecommunication Technology (MIIT), which led the creation of the “Made in China 2025” plan, according to Marketwatch.

Chinese brands are meant to get a boost from this new policy to both increase their quality and make them competitive with the big foreign manufacturers, especially in the production of high end gear like MR systems and CT scanners.

At present GE, Philips, and Siemens have a 70 percent share of that market, according to China Times, adding that foreign brands currently supply 80 percent to 90 percent of all high-end medical equipment in the country.

You Must Be Logged In To Post A Comment