Digital Medical Device Industry Emerges as Guizhou's New Economic Calling Card
The digital economy has clearly become the primary engine driving economic growth in Guizhou.
Since 2014, Guizhou’s development of its “big data industry” has entered its eighth year and achieved phased results. In 2020, the growth rate of Guizhou’s digital economy exceeded 15%, ranking first in China for six consecutive years. In the first three quarters of 2021 alone, cumulative investment in big data-related projects in Guizhou Province reached RMB 11.303 billion, achieving 75% of the annual investment target, with a year-on-year increase of RMB 755 million, representing a 7.15% growth.
However, the “big data advantage” is just one facet of Guizhou’s multifaceted landscape; its digital medical device industry has now also been put on “fast forward.”
On the one hand,Document No. 2 issued by the State Council in early 2022, "Opinions on Supporting Guizhou in Breaking New Grounds in the Large-Scale Development of the Western Region in the New Era", charting the course for Guizhou Province’s industrial transformation and upgrading as well as its exploratory efforts in building Digital China, while injecting robust momentum into Guiyang’s full-scale development of the digital economy.
The document outlines five strategic positioning goals for Guizhou: “a demonstration zone for comprehensive reform in the Western Development Initiative, a model area for consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation, a new highland for inland open economy, an innovative zone for digital economy development, and a pioneer zone for ecological civilization construction.”, providing robust policy, project, and financial support for Guizhou to blaze new trails in the large-scale development of China’s western region in the new era. This is a major landmark event in Guizhou’s economic and social development, carrying epoch-making milestone significance.
On the other hand, as the waves of internet healthcare and digital medical device industries rise, with a large number of innovators flooding in, the full-chain services urgently needed for these enterprises’ continuous development—project cultivation, business incubation, and industrial implementation—have yet to take shape. An opportunity has emerged to provide high-quality industrial “soil” for the development of innovative startups.
Against this backdrop, the Guizhou Provincial Government, leveraging the unique locational advantages of the National Big Data Center, has begun to vigorously promote the integrated development of internet healthcare and digital healthcare, striving to build China’s first provincial-level demonstration industrial park driven by the dual cores of internet healthcare and digital medical devices.
2022On May 12, the Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park in Baiyun District, Guiyang City, officially opened.
Zhou Liang (right), Deputy District Mayor of Baiyun District, Guiyang City, and Wu Hao, CEO of Taozi Health, Unveil the Park
Leaders from the Baiyun District People’s Government of Guiyang City and relevant administrative departments, as well as executives from Taozi Health and Haiou Park, attended the event.
Group Photo of Attending Leaders
Zhou Liang, Deputy District Mayor of Baiyun District, Guiyang CityIn his address, he stated that in recent years, Baiyun District has closely aligned with the “Five-Year Action Plan for Implementing the ‘Strong Provincial Capital’ Strategy” of Guiyang City, striving to achieve its goal of becoming a new central hub of the provincial capital characterized as an “industrial new city and high-quality Baiyun.” The district has successfully attracted a batch of robust projects with strong market prospects, stable industrial development, and significant driving effects, gradually emerging as a fertile ground for investment, a prime location for business operations, and a favorable environment for development.
This signing ceremony marks the commencement of cooperation between the Baiyun District People's Government and Sichuan Taozi Health Internet Hospital Management Co., Ltd. Both parties will continue to explore exchanges and cooperation in broader fields and at higher levels. To this end, Baiyun District will provide first-class services to enable the company to focus on project implementation and development planning, fully support the advancement of project construction, and strive to accelerate the early completion of the Guizhou Haiou Digital Medical Device Industrial Park project.
Zhou Liang, Deputy District Mayor of Baiyun District Government, Guiyang City
Wu Hao, CEO of Taozi Health
Wu Hao, CEO of Taozi Healthstated that Taozi Health is a digital healthcare industry service provider in China. The Dolphin Digital Healthcare Park, established in Chengdu, has attracted over 50 resident enterprises, including 11 publicly listed companies and nine unicorns, such as JD Health, Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, and Sunshine Insurance.
Over a two-year period, HaiTun has developed a full-lifecycle collaborative service model for the digital healthcare industry, spanning from investment promotion and infrastructure development to market operations. HaiTun’s successful model will also provide valuable insights for HaiOu’s strategic layout in the digital medical device sector. Meanwhile, Wu Hao shared HaiOu’s “Three-Year Plan,” which aims to establish HaiOu as China’s most popular industrial park for digital medical devices and internet hospitals by 2025.
As a key component of the event, Zhou Liang, Deputy District Mayor of Baiyun District People’s Government in Guiyang City, and Wu Hao, CEO of Taozi Health, signed the “Investment Agreement for the Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park Project between the People’s Government of Baiyun District, Guiyang City, and Sichuan Taozi Health Internet Hospital Management Co., Ltd.”
Zhou Liang (left), Deputy District Mayor of Baiyun District, Guiyang City, Signs Agreement with Wu Hao, CEO of Taozi Health
It is evident that the vigorous promotion by the Baiyun District Government of Guiyang City has instilled confidence and momentum into the development of the Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park. However, “to forge iron, one must be strong oneself.” In terms of the Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park itself, what advantages does it possess in industrial development? And how will these advantages empower the growth of the digital medical device industry?
First, its convenient geographical location has opened up the "transportation arteries" for industrial development.
Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park is located in Baiyun District, Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, known as the “District of Two Hearts.” Transportation serves as the foundational prerequisite for industrial development, with its level of convenience playing a decisive role in sustaining long-term industrial growth. As the political, economic, cultural, scientific, educational, and transportation hub of Guizhou Province, Guiyang acts as a crucial “gateway” and “strategic stronghold” linking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with western China. Baiyun District functions as a vital connector between Guiyang’s central urban area and its northern regions, as well as the northern counties and cities of Guizhou Province. It also serves as a key transportation hub linking Guiyang with Chongqing and Sichuan Province. This strategic position plays a significant role in regional economic development and the evolution of spatial patterns in western China.
Second, a first-class business environment has fostered a robust foundation for the digital economy industry.
In December 2020, Guizhou Province officially proposed the creation of the “Guiren Service” brand for its business environment, exploring the establishment of a grid-based service model for market entities and upholding the people-centric philosophy of treating businesses and the public as “distinguished guests.” In April 2021, the Guizhou Provincial Government issued the Three-Year Action Plan (2021–2023) for Building the “Guiren Service” Brand and Creating a World-Class Business Environment in China, requiring that by 2023, the benefits of the “Guiren Service” brand be fully realized, establishing it as a well-known national brand for business environments and propelling Guizhou into the top tier nationwide.
In recent years, Guizhou Province has seized the opportunities presented by the national Western Development Strategy, leveraged its high-quality big data resources, and integrated policy support with specialized industrial funds to build a big data service transformation platform for enterprises, attracting internet giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com, and Baidu.
Currently, Guizhou Province is witnessing robust momentum in the development of its digital economy-themed industries, with high-speed growth sustained across sectors such as electronic information manufacturing, software and information technology services, and communications services. The Gui'an New Area, a provincial-level demonstration zone for the digital economy, has attracted 17 key enterprises, while Guiyang, a demonstration city for the digital economy, has established 16 distinct industrial clusters (bases/centers). A preliminary pattern of digital economy agglomeration has taken shape.
In addition, Guizhou has built the “Global Call·The “Guiyang Services” brand has emerged as the fifth-largest hub for service outsourcing and call center industries, following Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Suzhou. AndGuizhou's well-developed big data industry chain can strengthen the upstream and downstream supply chains for the development of Seagull Digital Medical Devices., thereby continuously enhancing its competitiveness.
Third, the government actively provides guidance and introduces professional operational teams.
To promote cost reduction, efficiency enhancement, and high-quality development at the Haiou Digital Medical Device Industrial Park, the park will be managed by a professional digital healthcare industry service provider—Peach Health Group’s Operations Team is responsible for overall operations., providing high-quality, professional full-lifecycle services to support the integrated development of internet healthcare and digital healthcare for enterprises.
Peach HealthEstablished in 2017, it is a technology-driven healthcare industry group with nine subsidiaries in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors, including Chengdu Huafu Hospital, Taozi Internet Hospital, Dolphin Digital Medical Industrial Park, Jiuxing Pharmaceutical, and Yimeiluo Chain Pharmacies.
Since its establishment, Taozi Health has deeply engaged in the internet healthcare industry and obtained an internet hospital license in 2018, becoming Chengdu’s first internet hospital.Currently, the daily volume of online consultations exceeds 170,000, ranking among the top three in China.
Meanwhile, Taozi Health also identified a market gap in supporting services for digital healthcare infrastructure. Leveraging Chengdu’s advantages in medical talent, healthcare resources, business environment, and geographic location, and with strong support from the Chengdu Municipal Government and Shuangliu District Government, it successfully established an internet healthcare and digital healthcare industry cluster in 2020.——Dolphin Digital Medical Industrial Park,Currently, the park has introducedJD Health, Jointown, Health 160, Yaofang.cn, Kingdee Medical, Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, Xiao Yao Yao, and Yun Kai Ya MeiWith over 50 leading enterprises across China settled in the park, it is rapidly growing intoChina’s Most Influential and Largest Digital Health Technology Innovation Center.
Over the two years of overseeing the overall operations of the Dolphin Digital Healthcare Industrial Park, Taozi Health has developed a comprehensive methodology for industrial services. This has enabled the company to more adeptly mobilize industrial resources in Guizhou, Guiyang, and surrounding areas, further strengthening Guizhou’s “moat” in the digital medical device industry and truly establishing it as a new landmark for the sector.
Fourth, a comprehensive service system to support the sustainable development of the industrial park.
Under the guidance of competent authorities at all levels, the park adheres to the principle of “strict entry and lenient exit,” screening high-quality internet healthcare and digital healthcare enterprises and institutions from around the world to settle in the park for development, thereby providingPharmaceutical companies, innovative medical institutions (genetic testing, stem cells, health checkups), etc.Provide comprehensive construction services for enterprises with infrastructure needs in digital health and internet-based healthcare.
Specifically, the park offers the following categories of services:
Building and Training of the Online Medical Consultation Operations Team;
Operational system development, operational strategy consulting, and other services;
Provide end-to-end services for the application of “Digital Therapeutics Product Registration Certificates” to enterprises with digital therapeutics products;
Following the acquisition of corporate qualifications, leverage the advantages of the internet hospital cluster to facilitate the market implementation of digital therapeutics products during actual operations;
Comprehensive support services for the establishment of internet hospitals, covering collaboration with physical hospitals, system development, and full-process assistance in obtaining hospital qualifications such as MLPS certification.
5. The market potential is enormous, and the development space for the industrial park is considerable.
The Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park holds immense development potential, largely due to its precise capture of the two major industrial opportunities in “Internet Healthcare” and “Digital Therapeutics.”
Internet healthcare is a new channel connecting patients and doctors. According to data from the National Health Commission of China, there were 8.7 billion outpatient visits in China in 2019. However, with the increasing number of telemedicine companies, the volume of online consultations in China is projected to exceed 1.4 billion by 2025. At an average price of RMB 100 per consultation, the domestic market size for online diagnosis and treatment could reach RMB 140 billion.
Digital therapeutics are innovative tools for treating patient diseases. In China, digital therapeutics is in its early stages of development. Based on the regulatory oversight of products currently undergoing clinical trials, they are predominantly distributed across fields such as autism, oncology, respiratory diseases, neurological disorders, and rehabilitation. Most companies are still in the product research and development phase, resulting in a relatively low level of market competition.
As the new medical category of digital therapeutics continues to integrate into the healthcare ecosystem, the digital therapeutics market is poised for significant expansion in the coming years. According to global research by market intelligence firm Juniper Research, the digital therapeutics market will expand rapidly over the next five years, with its size exceeding $32 billion (approximately RMB 204.7 billion) in 2024, indicating broad industry prospects.
“Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park Has More ‘Room for Thought’ About the Future, Thanks to Strong Industrial Advantages and Unprecedented Development Opportunities.”
For the future of the Digital Medical Device Industrial Park, Seagull’s goal is clear:Accelerate the expansion of the digital medical device industry and build a large-scale industrial cluster. Strive to introduce 100 domestic digital health enterprises by 2024, achieve a total park output value of RMB 12–15 billion, and establish the Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park as the first provincial-level demonstration park in China.
Although the path forward is fraught with challenges, Guiyang City and Baiyun District boast abundant resources and benefit from the reputation of being the “Big Data Capital.” Therefore, the development of the Seagull Digital Medical Device Industrial Park holds great promise. Building on this strong urban foundation and through continuous optimization of park planning, Guiyang is poised to establish a national pioneer and demonstration hub for the digital healthcare industry, thereby contributing to the “Healthy China” initiative.