Synergy for Coexistence, Insight for Advancement: The 6th CIIE High-End Medical Device Open Innovation Summit Successfully Concludes

Shanghai, China, November 9, 2023 — Yesterday, the High-End Medical Device Open Innovation Summit of the Medical Devices Professional Committee at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) was grandly held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). Distinguished guests from the Ministry of Commerce, the CIIE Bureau, local governments at provincial and municipal levels, multinational medical device companies, domestic innovative enterprises, and clinical medical institutions gathered to share cutting-edge innovations, discuss future development directions, and offer insights for the industry’s sustainable growth. By establishing a high-quality open platform, the summit aims to accelerate the localization and implementation of premium medical technologies in China.

The Medical Innovation Incubation Zone at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), first established in 2021, serves as a vital global window for the medical device industry and plays an active role in promoting technological innovation, openness, and collaborative exchange in healthcare. This year, the zone continues to operate under the theme “Empowering Co-Creation, Realizing Dreams in the East.” It showcases approximately 50 innovative achievements, featuring premium projects that combine technological originality with urgent clinical needs. These exhibits fully demonstrate global trends in medical technology development and create new opportunities for the growth of the medical device industry both in the Chinese market and worldwide.

Address by Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce

Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce and Director of the Organizing Committee Office of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), stated in his opening remarks: “In recent years, the ‘magnetic appeal’ of China’s medical device market has continued to strengthen, accelerating overseas medical device companies’ investments in China. The CIIE creates new opportunities and opens up new pathways for collaborative innovation and development among all stakeholders in the medical device industry.”

Address by Zhang Jian, Vice Chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of the Hunan Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce

In his address, Zhang Jian, Vice Chairman of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and President of the Hunan Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce, stated: “The medical device industry is a vital component of the broader health industry and plays a critical role in safeguarding human health and life safety, holding significant importance for advancing the Healthy China initiative. The Hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Hunan Provincial People’s Government are vigorously promoting the high-quality development of the medical device industry, with the aim of building a world-class medical device industrial cluster. We take this opportunity to warmly welcome domestic and international medical device enterprises to invest in and establish operations in Hunan, fostering cooperation at higher levels, with greater sophistication, and according to higher standards, so as to jointly drive the prosperous development of the global medical device industry.”

BD and the Innovation Incubation Zone Sign Agreements at the 7th China International Import Expo

Back row, from right to left: Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce; Deng Jianmin, Senior Vice President of BD Worldwide and General Manager of Greater China

From right to left in the front row: Jin Lu, Partner at Wanjiang Innovation, Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Huatang Dachang; Liu Fuxue, Deputy Director General of the China International Import Expo Bureau; Wu Zhibin, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of BD Greater China

Signing of Overseas Innovation Cooperation with Strategic Partners

From right to left: Xiao Zhen, CEO of Swiss Center Group; Jin Lu, Partner at Wanjiang Innovation, Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Huatang Dachang; Li Ping (Moderator), Vice President of Greater China at BD Medical.

The ongoing “CIIE stories” and the ever-expanding “CIIE effect,” coupled with the Chinese government’s determination to broaden and deepen its opening-up, have brought together old and new friends from around the world year after year to discuss innovation. At this forum, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a global medical technology giant, held its signing ceremony for the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in the Innovation Incubation Zone. Meanwhile, Wanjiang Innovation, a domestic innovative enterprise, signed a strategic partnership agreement for overseas innovation collaboration with the Swiss Center Group. These developments underscore the aspiration of innovative companies to seize opportunities in China and share a promising future in the new era.

Keynote Address by Deng Jianmin, Senior Vice President of BD Worldwide and General Manager of Greater China

Deng Jianmin, Global Senior Vice President and General Manager of Greater China at BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), which serves as the chair unit of the Medical Devices Exhibition Alliance Committee at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), stated in his keynote address: “The concept that ‘The Next China is China’ has gained widespread recognition among multinational corporations operating in China. The Chinese healthcare market possesses sustainable potential and appeal, making it an indispensable hub for the growth of multinational medical enterprises. As population aging intensifies healthcare demand and reforms in health insurance payment systems advance, the innovation and quality advantages of multinational medical companies will continue to come to the fore. Meanwhile, leveraging global innovation pipelines and R&D capabilities, coupled with the promotion of localized innovation, the production and operational costs of innovative medical devices are expected to decrease further, thereby benefiting more patients.”

As China leverages high-level opening-up to drive high-quality development, the localization of global medical innovative technologies in China has become an inevitable trend. The Medical Innovation Incubation Zone aims to establish a national-level system for market access and incubation empowerment of medical innovation technologies, facilitating both the “introduction” and “global expansion” of innovative technologies. By leveraging technological innovation, this initiative seeks to attract more global medical technology enterprises to establish their presence in China, thereby driving leapfrog development in China’s medical device industry.

During the forum, Guo Lifu, a member of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of Hunan Xiangjiang New Area (Changsha High-Tech Zone), representing the guest province, delivered a policy interpretation titled “Strengthening Policy Supply to Empower the Construction of an Innovation Hub.” Liu Longfei, a member of the Party Committee and Vice President of Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, gave a thematic presentation. Four premium projects were also recommended and introduced at the event, including the STAAR refractive intraocular lens, the Thyretain Turbo TSI Stimulating Reporter BioAssay for detecting thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor stimulating antibodies, and the Softwave 3D Stereoscopic Parallel Ultrasound Therapy System.

Roundtable Discussion: Open Markets Accelerate the Drive for Medical Technology Innovation

From right to left: Zhang Juntao, Deputy Director of the Investment Promotion Bureau of Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone; Liu Guanhong, Member of the Party Committee, Standing Committee Member, and Deputy Director of Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone; Lin Yan, President of Greater China at Karolinska Development; Zhou Xingtao, Dean of the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University; Jin Lu, Partner at Wanjiang Innovation, Vice Chairman of Huatang Dachang, and Non-Executive Director.

Zhou Xingtao, President of the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University; Wang Hao, President of Siemens Healthineers Greater China and Member of the Global Management Committee; Lin Yan, President of Karolinska Institute Greater China; Liu Guanhong, Member of the Party Committee, Standing Committee Member, and Deputy Director of the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone; Zhang Juntao, Deputy Director of the Investment Promotion Bureau of Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone; and Jin Lu, Partner at Wanjiang Innovation (Shanghai) Medical Technology Co., Ltd. and Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Hualtang Medical Holdings Co., Ltd., participated in a roundtable discussion titled “Open Markets Accelerate the Drive for Medical Technology Innovation.”

Media Q&A Session

From right to left: Jin Lu, Partner at Wanjiang Innovation, Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Huatang Dachang; Lin Yan, President of Greater China at Karolinska Institute; Deng Jianmin, Global Senior Vice President and General Manager of Greater China at BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company); Wang Hao, President of Greater China at Siemens Healthineers and Member of the Global Management Committee; Li Sha, Director of Corporate Branding, Public Relations, and Digital Intelligence Communications at BD (Moderator)

Wang Hao, President of Siemens Healthineers Greater China and member of the Global Management Committee, stated: “Over the past three decades, China’s medical device industry has been in a phase of rapid development. Many segments of the medical equipment supply chain have achieved localization, fostering and empowering indigenous innovation. Through the joint efforts of government, industry, academia, and healthcare providers, the translation of medical engineering innovations has, to some extent, filled domestic gaps in clinical and research technologies, thereby driving the breakthrough and emergence of more globally innovative medical achievements.”

Lin Yan, President of Greater China at Agilent Technologies, similarly stated, “Medical technology innovation stems from clinical needs, thrives on collaboration among clinical practitioners, enterprises, and research institutions, and ultimately serves patients, with the aim of improving healthcare quality, reducing medical costs, and advancing scientific research. For instance, ‘medical-engineering translation’ in the field of in vitro diagnostics, such as Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs), is driving and consolidating cutting-edge achievements, enabling them to go global from China and benefit more patients.”

Mr. Jin Lu, Partner at Wanjiang Innovation (Shanghai) Medical Technology Co., Ltd., and Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Huatang Medical Holdings Co., Ltd., representing local innovative enterprises, stated: “This marks the third consecutive year that Wanjiang Innovation has participated in the CIIE Medical Innovation Incubation Zone. Since the beginning of this year, the Wanjiang team has engaged with several global medical innovation platforms and organized a delegation to Europe. Through incubation parks such as EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne, Switzerland, BioAlps, and Barcelona, Spain, we have successfully attracted multiple medical innovation companies to exhibit at the CIIE. We hope to leverage the CIIE’s medical innovation incubation platform to introduce more overseas medical innovations and host more events, such as forums on medical device innovation. This will enable local medical innovation enterprises to access more cutting-edge overseas technologies and continuously foster and deepen exchanges and resource connections between local enterprises and foreign technologies.”

The Innovation Incubation Zone is dedicated to establishing an international open window for globally leading medical technologies and a “mother ship” for localization and incubation in China, bringing more, more unique, and higher-quality innovative medical device products and solutions to the Chinese market. Leveraging the open exchange platform of the annual China International Import Expo (CIIE), the “circle of friends” of the Medical Innovation Incubation Zone continues to expand. With the collaborative empowerment of strategic partners in the Innovation Incubation Zone, an increasing number of local innovation achievements will be commercialized, jointly injecting strong momentum into China’s high-quality development and thereby driving leapfrog development in China’s medical device industry.

Deng Jianmin, Senior Vice President of BD Worldwide and General Manager of Greater China, whose company serves as the chair unit of the Medical Devices Exhibition Alliance Special Committee at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), summarized in a media interview: “I am full of confidence in the Chinese market and localized innovation. Whether in the starting, acceleration, or sprinting phase, innovation in China has demonstrated ‘China Speed.’ This confidence stems from the combined drive of technology, regulations, capital, and demand, and even more so from the empowerment and connectivity within the industrial ecosystem, reinforcing our determination to resonate in sync with the high-quality development of China’s healthcare industry.”