China opens up medical sector, manufacturing to foreign ownership in growth push

The capital Beijing is among several major Chinese cities where foreign investors will be allowed to run hospitals and offer human stem cell and gene diagnostic services. - Photo: AFP

BEIJING (SCMP): China will allow wholly foreign-owned hospitals to be set up in several major cities, and let foreign investors offer human stem cell and gene therapy services in pilot free-trade zones, as part of efforts to bring back foreign investment and stabilise growth.

A joint circular on Sunday from the Ministry of Commerce, National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration said foreign investors would be allowed to run hospitals in the cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as in the southern island province of Hainan.