China announced plans to allow the setting up of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in nine areas of the country, including the capital, in a bid to attract more foreign investment, Reuters reported.
The policy is a pilot project to implement a promise made by the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party led by Xi Jinping at a July plenum held about every five years, according to a document on the commerce ministry’s website.
Hospitals practising traditional Chinese medicine and mergers and acquisitions of state-owned hospitals will fall under the exception, the document said, adding that the specific conditions, requirements and procedures for establishing such foreign-owned hospitals will soon come into detail.
The project will allow the establishment of such hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hainan – relatively wealthy cities and provinces in eastern and southern China.
In addition, foreign-backed companies will have access to the development and application of human gene and stem cell technologies for treatment and diagnostics in the pilot free trade zones of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hainan.
In order to…introduce foreign investment to promote the high-quality development of China’s medical-related fields, and better meet the medical and health needs of the people, it is planned to carry out pilot work of expanding opening-up in the medical field, according to the document.
