As trade tensions with the US intensify, Beijing is transforming its pharma and med tech sectors, which only a few years ago were viewed as a relatively open and investment-friendly, into a strategic arena for self-reliance and technological control. This shift is not just reactive, it is a deliberate move and one that may end up reshaping the rules of global healthcare investment.
Following Donald Trump’s trade war declaration, Beijing’s National Medical Products Administration has reportedly instructed state-owned drugmakers to assess their exposure to US materials, lab equipment and reagents.
Domestic producers now look set to be charged with the task of manufacturing medical goods that will match the cutting-edge technology that has been imported from the US.
US-produced raw materials and equipment make up a small but critical portion of the domestic medicine market in China. Stakeholders in the healthcare industry have already reported price hikes in US imports due to China’s 125% retaliatory tariffs.
China is not just acting reactively to geopolitical pressure, it is said to be following a long-term strategy to insulate its pharmaceutical industry, alongside other supply chains, from external pressures.
It aims to reposition itself as a self-sufficient, innovation-led healthcare power, and plans to use M&A strategically to get there.
While access to China’s fast-moving biotech ecosystem has been attractive for international investors in recent years, the window to participate may be narrowing as Beijing works to localise its supply chains and tighten control over critical technologies.