China - October 24, 2024

Global medical equipment giant builds precision medicine industrial cluster in southwest China

(Voice_over)

Southwest China's Chengdu City is emerging as a hotspot for foreign investment.

Recent city data shows that more than 4,000 foreign enterprises have established a presence in the city, with cumulative foreign direct investment surpassing 40 billion U.S. dollars.

Global medical equipment giant General Electric HealthCare is one of them.

Since entering China in 1979, the U.S.-based company has experienced rapid growth. In May of 2023, they launched a production base in Chengdu and had products rolling off the assembly line by the end of last year.

(Sound_bite)

Chen Heqiang, General Manager of Supply Chain; VP, GE HealthCare China:

"We were already launching products while the project was still under construction, and everything was legal and compliant. This is truly remarkable. Even our most stringent European counterparts initially couldn't believe it. It could only be done in China, specifically in Chengdu. We call it 'China Speed.'"

(Voice_over)

The general manager of the company's supply chain in China said as a city, Chengdu's favorable business environment, strong industrial cluster, and seaside location have boosted the company's confidence in investing in the area.

Going forward, they aim to transform their plant in the city into a precision medicine industrial base.

(Sound_bite)

Chen Heqiang, General Manager of Supply Chain; VP, GE HealthCare China:

"The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is quite unique, and we are thinking about how to make the most of it, for instance, the China-Europe freight train. We have a global focus. We're not just building a factory, but also a service center, a customer experience center, and training facilities in the western region. We aim to build it into a precision medicine industrial base in the future."

(Voice_over)

According to official data, the scale of the city's pharmaceutical and health industry last year was around 50 billion U.S. dollars.

[Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]