Lianying Town: A New Paradigm of Industry-City Integration Driving Shanghai's RMB 100 Billion Medical Health Industry

In recent years, driven by increasing policy and financial support in China and the continuous enhancement of public health awareness, the growth rate of China’s medical device market has significantly outpaced that of the global market.

According to Frost & Sullivan analysis, the size of China's medical device market has surpassed the trillion-yuan mark, growing from RMB 960 billion in 2022 to RMB 1.045 trillion in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5% from 2017 to 2022.

Driven by rapid growth that outpaces the global market, China’s medical device sector has become an arena brimming with imaginative potential yet fraught with immense challenges.Against this backdrop, the “United Imaging Town Development and Construction Promotion Conference & Medical Health Industry Summit” (hereinafter referred to as the “Summit”) will be held in Jiading, Shanghai, on November 20–21, 2024, to promote the in-depth development of the medical and health industry in Shanghai and across China.

This year's summit is organized byShanghai Jiading Industrial Zone Management Committee, Shanghai Jiading Industrial Zone Development (Group) Co., Ltd., and Shanghai United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd.Co-hosted by,Shanghai Jiabei Biopharmaceutical Technology Development Co., Ltd., Shanghai High-End Medical Equipment Industrial ParkCo-organized, and with“New-Quality Drive, City-Industry Integration”Centered on this theme, we will promote the development advantages of “United Imaging Town” and the medical health industry in Jiading Industrial Park from a national perspective. From the perspective of industry-city integration, we will gather various innovative entities and industry elements in Jiading Industrial Park, ultimately creating a platform for the exchange of frontier ideas, demonstration of innovative technologies, and matchmaking of cooperation needs in China’s medical health industry.

A review of the global technology industry’s development history reveals a clear pattern: only when upstream and downstream stakeholders join forces to foster a thriving ecosystem can the industry achieve leapfrog growth.

Therefore, the “United Imaging Town Development and Construction Promotion Conference & Medical Health Industry Summit” not only comprehensively promoted the planning and construction progress of “United Imaging Town,” but also focused more on the upstream and downstream demands of the medical health industry. It strengthened liaison, communication, and cooperation with outstanding entrepreneurs, investment experts, and research experts in the medical health field, building a platform for dialogue and joint development planning. This truly ensured that attendees gained valuable insights and brought more possibilities to the development of China’s medical health sector.

This summit was jointly initiated by Shanghai Jiading Industrial Zone and United Imaging Healthcare.

Shanghai Jiading Industrial ZoneEstablished in October 1992, it is one of the first municipal-level industrial parks approved by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government and has been consecutively awarded the title of "Shanghai Brand Industrial Park" for many years. Covering a total area of 78 square kilometers in northwest Shanghai, the park has seen its total industrial output value from enterprises above designated size surpass RMB 130 billion, with operating revenue from service sector enterprises above designated size approaching RMB 27 billion. The total commodity sales volume and total retail sales of consumer goods have reached RMB 360 billion and RMB 110 billion, respectively, ranking among the top across major industrial zones in Shanghai in terms of key economic indicators. The industrial zone has attracted more than 2,000 corporate entities from over 40 countries and regions, including more than 50 Fortune Global 500 companies and other renowned domestic and international enterprises, forming“Leading enterprises driving growth, cluster-based development, differentiated competition, and mutual progress”industrial landscape and industrial ecosystem.

Shanghai Jiading Industrial Zone

United Imaging HealthcareSince establishing its roots in Jiading Industrial Park in 2011, it has targeted“Full-line coverage and independent R&D are mandatory; mastery of all core technologies is essential; benchmarking against the world’s top-tier standards is required.”With this goal in mind, it firmly embarked on the path of “independent innovation.” Through more than a decade of diligent efforts, United Imaging Healthcare has achieved breakthroughs in the domestic independent research and development of high-end medical equipment—including 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), PET/CT, PET/MR, and 640-slice CT—taking them from zero to one. This has decisively reversed the decades-long heavy reliance on imports in the high-end medical equipment sector, enabling the company to grow from a start-up team into an industry “chain leader.”

United Imaging Healthcare

With the concerted efforts of government and enterprise, this summit will bring together resources from multiple sectors, including government, industry, academia, research, and healthcare. It will feature over 50 speakers and more than 400 attendees in person, with a lineup covering top scientists in the medical and health fields, regulatory review and approval experts, executives from leading companies, founders of innovative enterprises, renowned investors, experts from well-known Grade A tertiary hospitals, academic scholars, and media representatives. The event will focus on industrial development from multiple perspectives and dimensions, promoting the collision of cutting-edge ideas and the integration of high-quality resources.

Participating Institutions and Companies (Continuously Updated)

This summit serves not only as a platform to showcase “United Imaging Town,” a model demonstration zone for the integration of industry and urban development, but also extends a special invitation to a broader range of participants. It aims to encourage more industrial stakeholders to integrate into this vibrant ecosystem, thereby fostering collaboration and exchange within the healthcare industry.

To make the summit's discussions more in-depth and productive,The organizers have meticulously planned one keynote forum and three thematic sub-forums., providing attendees with a platform for intellectual exchange and the collision of ideas through diverse conference formats.

The main forum will inviteTop academicians, renowned experts from leading Grade-A tertiary hospitals, core executives of United Imaging Healthcare, and key leaders from relevant government departmentsDistinguished guests will attend the event. The report will focus on clinical trials of innovative medical devices, case studies in medical-engineering translation, and how technological innovation drives the construction of the medical device industry ecosystem, providing participants with a high-quality platform for exchange and learning to promote the development and collaboration of the healthcare industry.

Three sub-forums will focus on the hot topics of the current industry.Sub-forum 1 will focus on the innovative development of the medical imaging equipment industry, where United Imaging is a key player, sharing the latest industry trends and technological breakthroughs; Sub-forum 2 will concentrate on frontier innovations in implantable and interventional medical devices, exploring development trends and market potential in this field; Sub-forum 3 will keep pace with the wave of global expansion in the industry by hosting the Medical Device Global Expansion Forum and the Matchmaking Meeting for Global Demand of Innovative Medical Products, aiming to foster international cooperation and help enterprises expand into global markets.

In response to the national innovation-driven development strategy and Shanghai’s policy orientation toward promoting the medical and healthcare industry, this summit will also"Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem Exhibition"in the form of, to centrally showcase innovative technological products and solutions in healthcare, particularly in high-end medical equipment and medical devices, thereby accelerating the application and promotion of innovative medical technologies.

In recent years, Jiading has proactively integrated into the city’s “1+5+X” biopharmaceutical industry layout and actively formulated the “Jiading Plan” for biopharmaceutical industry development, centered on the framework of “One Axis, One Town, Two Valleys, and Two Zones.” Among these, the “One Town” refers to “United Imaging Town,” which is the core topic of this summit.

The town is jointly developed by the Shanghai Jiading Industrial Zone and United Imaging Healthcare, a “chain leader” enterprise, with a total planned area of 9.5 square kilometers. It will leverage “"City, People, Industry" Integrated Model of Industry-City Fusion Development, led by United Imaging Group and other core leading enterprises, to fully unlock regional development potential, build a world-class cluster of high-end medical equipment industries, and create a future-oriented innovation hub for corporate talent supported by high-quality services. Upon completion, the project is expected to accommodate an additional 47,000 residents, release 203 hectares of industrial land, and generate 55,000 new jobs.Achieved an output value of over RMB 100 billion.

United Imaging Town – Planning Rendering

The town as a whole has formed a spatial structure of “one core, one axis, and four zones.”

The “One Core” refers to the 2-square-kilometer core pilot zone, a key area officially launched and advanced during this summit. It aims to create a demonstration industrial block featuring chain-cluster development with United Imaging as the chain leader, providing the most essential industrial functions and the most comprehensive supporting services. The “One Axis” denotes the Baoqian Highway Comprehensive Service Axis, which connects the “Four Zones” from east to west: the United Imaging Home Community, the Chain-Cluster Industrial Agglomeration Zone, the Zhuqiao Talent Community, and the United Imaging Future Industry Expansion Zone. This axis provides ample space for industrial development and offers high-quality work and living experiences for talent.

United Imaging Town: “One Core, One Axis, Four Zones, Industry-City Integration”

The integration of transportation, environment, and culture helps small towns attract more innovative resources and talent, promote industrial agglomeration, and enhance industrial competitiveness. Meanwhile, well-developed industrial support spaces are key to fostering synergy between upstream and downstream segments of the industrial chain, promoting technological innovation and product R&D, and stimulating regional economic vitality.

Guided by the development philosophy of “industry-driven urbanization and city-enabled industrial growth,” United Imaging Town is fully confident that, leveraging its advantages in convenient transportation, unique culture, sound ecology, and high-quality supporting facilities, it will stand at the forefront of healthcare industry clusters across China.

The town features a dual-rail transit system, including the northern extension of the Jiamin Line and the Jiading New City Express Line, which integrates with the existing road network to form an interconnected and efficient public transportation system. By blending the 600-year-old cultural heritage of the ancient Loutang Town with elements of the medical and health industry, the town enhances its cultural appeal. Leveraging its superior ecological environment and abundant water systems, the town has developed riverside walkways and slow-traffic corridors to create a Liubei Waterfront Promenade with distinctive Jiangnan characteristics. The talent community, transformed from the old towns of Loutang and Zhuqiao, provides high-quality living amenities—including housing, education, and healthcare—for enterprises and professionals.

UIH Town, Liubei Waterfront Promenade

As a demonstration zone for the integration of industry and urban development, with a planned area of 9.5 square kilometers, United Imaging Healthcare Town provides comprehensive support to early-stage innovative enterprises—including achievement transformation, intellectual property management, technological breakthroughs, and financing matchmaking—thereby accelerating the industrialization and iterative innovation of scientific and technological achievements. Meanwhile, the town has reserved a substantial amount of high-quality industrial space, offering ample and premium land resources for rapidly growing mature projects, thus truly delivering full-lifecycle service support spanning “project concept validation–enterprise incubation–industry acceleration–industrial land provision.”

Relying on full lifecycle management services and the leading-edge driving effect,United Imaging Town has attracted nearly 300 medical and health enterprises, including Apqiang, Sanyou Medical, and Yixin Medical.Moving forward, Jiading Industrial Zone and United Imaging Healthcare will fully leverage their service support capabilities and leadership role throughout the entire industry development lifecycle. By capitalizing on their resource advantages to attract upstream and downstream enterprises, they aim to foster a larger-scale industrial cluster, further improve supporting facilities for scientific and technological services, enhance the functionality of technology service platforms, and ultimately establish an open, innovative, and sustainable industrial ecosystem.

Looking across from the United Imaging Headquarters, located in the core pilot zone, toward the Baoqian Highway development axis, one can see the Shanghai High-End Medical Equipment Industrial Park, which has been completed and put into operation.

Shanghai High-End Medical Equipment Industrial Park

As one of the co-organizers of this summit, the Shanghai High-End Medical Equipment Industrial Park serves as a specialized investment promotion and service platform for United Imaging Town and the Shanghai Jiading Industrial Zone’s healthcare industry. It focuses primarily on medical imaging equipment, implantable and interventional devices, pharmaceutical CROs, life science instruments, and in vitro diagnostics.

As a key industrial supporting resource for “United Imaging Town,” the Shanghai High-End Medical Equipment Industrial Park fully integrates resources from government, industry, academia, research, and healthcare sectors to deeply empower the development of medical health enterprises, striving to build an industrial highland in northern Shanghai for the R&D, manufacturing, and application of high-end medical equipment.

The industrial park has established 20 public technical service platforms for the medical and health industry, covering fields such as medical devices, life science instruments, animal platforms, contract research organizations (CROs) for R&D technologies, and the medical metaverse. By sharing instruments and equipment and fostering open technical collaboration, these platforms provide more specialized services to enterprises, helping to reduce R&D costs.

Meanwhile, the park is prioritizing the development of platforms such as a Proof-of-Concept Center for Innovative Medical Products, Collaborative Services for Medical Device Market Access, and Overseas Development Services for Healthcare Products. These initiatives aim to establish channels for the commercialization of healthcare technological achievements, streamline pathways for new product launches, and enhance enterprises’ capabilities in connecting with overseas users and expanding into international markets.

This year, Jiading Industrial Zone will be officially establishedHealthcare Industry Alliance, fully aggregating development factors such as technology, talent, capital, and information, and attracting healthcare industry-relatedChain-leading enterprises, functional departments, universities and colleges, clinical institutions, research institutes, key enterprises, technology transfer entities, financial investment firms, and other public institutions and enterprisesBy fostering cross-regional and cross-industry collaboration, we will continuously enhance the competitiveness of the healthcare industry chain in Jiading Industrial Park, contributing to the development of a distinctive healthcare industrial cluster with international influence. As a member of the alliance’s secretariat, the industrial park will also play a key role in effectively facilitating the successful implementation of the alliance’s initiatives.

Jiading District is the innovation core of Shanghai’s healthcare industry and one of the key hubs for China’s biopharmaceutical sector. In 2023, the output value of Jiading District’s high-performance medical equipment and precision medicine industries reached RMB 28.54 billion, with Jiading Industrial Zone accounting for 45.4% of the district’s total industrial output, thereby becoming a significant driver of regional economic development.

Since 2020, Jiading Industrial Zone has hosted summits related to the medical and health industry for several consecutive years. The holding of this year’s “United Imaging Town Development and Construction Promotion Conference & Medical and Health Industry Summit” not only highlights its profound expertise and sustained investment in this field, but also serves as strong testament to its firm commitment to advancing China’s medical and health industry, accelerating technological innovation, and deepening industry collaboration.

“Where the sea is wide, fish leap freely; where the sky is high, birds soar at will.” Amidst the booming development of China’s healthcare industry, we warmly welcome you to attend the “United Imaging Town Development and Construction Promotion Conference & Healthcare Industry Summit,” to witness together the birth of a world-class cluster of high-end medical equipment industries and experience firsthand the vibrant momentum of this sector.

November 20–21, Jiading, Shanghai—see you there!

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