Mission Statement

CS Healthcare Technologies Trade Mission

China and Hong Kong

September 11-15, 2006

Mission Description:

The United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, U.S. Commercial Service, Office of Global Trade Programs, is organizing a Healthcare Technologies Trade Mission to China, which will visit Beijing and Hong Kong September 11-15, 2006.

The trade mission will target a broad range of healthcare sectors including medical equipment and devices; diagnostics; the IT-healthcare sub-sector, e.g., electronic patient records, automated patient scheduling, telemedicine; and the healthcare services sectors.

The focus of the mission will be to match participating U.S. companies with qualified agents, distributors, representatives, licensees, and joint venture partners, and where appropriate, arrange for appointments with government officials, in these markets.

Commercial Setting:

Beijing:

Beijing is China’s capital and gateway to the vast opportunities that exist in this country’s medical sector.   China’s medical device market is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing, ranked 11 th in the world.   Imports account for approximately seventy percent of China’s US$6 billion medical device market, and the U.S. supplies approximately 35 percent of those imports, followed by Japan, and European countries, led by Germany.

China’s market for imported medical devices is growing at about 15 percent annually, and the sales volume of China’s medical equipment market is expected to exceed US$7 billion in 2005.    Chinese end-users view U.S. products as superior in quality and highly technologically advanced.    China’s hospitals, in particular, welcome high quality, high technology medical products.  

Depending on the type of product being imported to China, two Chinese agencies – the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) – control the regulatory process for medical devices in China.   Importers must register all medical and dental equipment with SFDA prior to sales and distribution in China.   The AQSIQ has established technical standards for imports and exports of seven categories of medical equipment through compulsory product certification.

The Chinese medical equipment market provides strong opportunities for U.S. exporters, but it also presents its share of challenges, primarily due to its regulatory environment (mainly dealing with pricing issues and requirements concerning centralized procurement regulations) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).    However, there are promising steps being taken by the Chinese government to address these challenges. China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) four years ago and has committed itself to cutting tariffs, liberalizing its domestic distribution practices, restructuring its regulatory environment, and revising laws to address IPR protection requirements. Persistence, coupled with due diligence and guidance, can result in successful sales to this growing market of 1.3 billion people.

Hong Kong:

Hong Kong's population of 6.8 million in 2003 is expected to increase to 7.3 million by 2006.   It is anticipated that those aged 65 and above, which constituted about 11 percent of the population in 2002, will rise to about 13 percent in 2016.   As a result, there has been a shift in disease pattern towards chronic ailments, such as stroke, diabetes and coronary heart disease.   This has led to a rising demand for high technology products and services for use on stroke and heart attack patients.   Consequently, there is also a growing need for rehabilitation services and equipment.  

Hong Kong produces almost no medical equipment and relies almost entirely on imports.   Total medical equipment imports in 2003 were US$801 million, with imports from the U.S. of US$206 million, (26% of the total imports).   The medical equipment market in Hong Kong is dominated by U.S., German and Japanese products.

There are basically four categories of "consumers" for medical equipment:   public hospitals, private hospitals, private practitioners and private laboratories.   The primary customers of U.S.-made medical products in Hong Kong will continue to be the public hospitals.  

Mission Goals:

The Trade Mission's goal is to provide market entry or increased sales into the Chinese/Hong Kong markets for U.S. healthcare firms and/or IT firms with healthcare-related products or services, as well as first-hand market information and access to potential business partners.

Mission Scenario:

The trade mission will spend two days in Beijing and two days in Hong Kong.  

In each city, the U.S. Commercial Service will:

• Provide a market briefing highlighting opportunities in the healthcare technologies sector;

• Schedule one-on-one appointments with potential business partners for each participant;

• Arrange a hospitality event to introduce participants to key business and industry officials.

Timetable:

Criteria for Participation:

• Relevance of the company's business line to the mission scope and goals;

• Potential for business in the selected markets;

• Timeliness of the company's completed application, participation agreement, and payment of the mission participation fee;

• Provision of adequate information on the company's products and/or services and communication of the company's primary objectives to facilitate appropriate matching with potential business partners;

• Certification that the company's products and/or services are manufactured or produced in the United States or if manufactured/produced outside of the United States, the product/service must be marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have U.S. content representing at least 51 percent of the value of the finished good or service.

Any partisan political activities of an applicant, including political contributions, will be entirely irrelevant to the selection process.

The mission will be promoted through the following venues: Export Assistance Centers and the Healthcare Team; USCS Trade Events List www.export.gov;

industry newsletters; the Federal Register; relevant trade publications; relevant trade associations; past Commerce trade mission participants; various in-house and purchased industry lists, and on the Commerce Department trade missions calendar:   www.ita.doc.gov/doctm/tmcal.html

Recruitment will begin immediately and will close on June 16, 2006.   The trade mission participation fee will be US$3,500-$4,000 per company.   The participation fee does not include the cost of travel and lodging.   Participation is open to the first 10 qualified U.S. companies.   Applications received after that date will be considered only if space and scheduling constraints permit.

Contact Information:

Bill Kutson, Project Manager
U.S. Commercial Service
Global Trade Programs
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 2012
Washington, D.C. 20230
Tel: (202) 482-2839
Fax: (202) 482-0178
E-mail: William.Kutson@mail.doc.gov