China to allow wholly foreign-owned hospitals in certain areas

China plans to allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in certain cities and regions across the country, according to an official document released on Sunday.

These hospitals will be permitted to open in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and throughout the island of Hainan, according to a circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC), the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration on further expanding pilot programs for opening up in the medical field.

The circular noted that the conditions, requirements and procedures for establishing these hospitals will be specified later.

Foreign-invested enterprises are also allowed to carry out the development and application of technologies relating to human stem cells and gene diagnosis and treatment in the pilot free-trade zones in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Province, as well as in the Hainan Free Trade Port, for the registration, launch and production of relevant products, the document said.

It added that relevant enterprises must comply with China's laws and regulations and observe the requirements regarding human genetic resource management, drug clinical trials, drug registration and production and ethical review. They are also asked to follow the relevant management procedures.

The circular further told the local authorities involved to better engage and serve the interested foreign enterprises, enhance communication between authorities, and intensify the supervision and management of pilot enterprises, thus timely identifying relevant risks and effectively preventing them.

"China will further promote the opening up of the service industry and increase the openness and innovation efforts in emerging fields such as telecom value-added services, healthcare, digital economy, culture and tourism, transportation, commercial aerospace, and fashion consumption," said Meng Huating, deputy head of the foreign investment department at the MOC. "China will also ensure that foreign-invested enterprises receive national treatment in terms of access to key factors, qualification licensing, standard setting and government procurement."