AstraZeneca Executive: Favorable Policies in China Propel the Sustainable Growth of 'Internet + Healthcare'

CRI Online (Reporter Sheng Chao) On the 18th,AstraZenecaWang Lei, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca globally and President of International Business and China, stated at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2021 that the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Hainan is China’s only “medical special zone,” offering a series of groundbreaking preferential policies. AstraZeneca will fully leverage these policy advantages to explore and plan collaborations with Hainan, utilizing information technology to enhance the efficiency of medical services. This also serves as a major impetus for AstraZeneca’s launch of related initiatives in China, including the innovative “Internet + Healthcare” application model.

“The New Ecosystem of Future Healthcare” was one of the hot topics at the Boao Forum for Asia’s parallel sessions this year. Collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and internet healthcare enterprises is not uncommon, but AstraZeneca was among the first to elevate its internet hospital project to a strategic priority. Last year, AstraZeneca announced its Internet Hospital Strategic Project (iHospital). In an exclusive interview with reporters, Wang Lei stated that “Internet + Healthcare” is an indispensable component of the current transformation and upgrading of the healthcare industry. China has repeatedly emphasized the development of “Internet + Healthcare,” and AstraZeneca has been actively promoting digital healthcare development while continuously exploring innovative application models for “Internet + Healthcare.”

He pointed out that Europe boasts a solid research foundation and a well-developed research environment, making it one of the key regions for the global development of artificial intelligence technology. With its headquarters in Europe and a deep-rooted presence in China for many years, AstraZeneca has been a witness to the nascent development of internet healthcare in China. Comparing China and Europe, Wang Lei stated that both face a common challenge in their development: the increasingly severe aging population. Although China’s internet healthcare sector started later, it has gradually matured in recent years thanks to the government’s emphasis on the “Internet + Healthcare” industry, the continuous introduction of favorable policies, and the ongoing improvement of industry standards. Meanwhile, as China implements higher-level opening-up, it has created a more favorable policy and market environment for foreign enterprises operating in the country. This has attracted more medical innovation companies with strong R&D capabilities from both home and abroad to establish themselves in China, helping local Chinese enterprises jointly build an innovative ecosystem for internet healthcare adapted to future development.