A man works at a CT machine workshop at Neusoft Medical in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, May 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)
BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- A new wave of Chinese-made drugs and medical devices is reaching the world, highlighting the big steps China has taken in the global health market.
In the first 11 months of 2025, China's medicine exports reached 100.895 billion U.S. dollars, with the product structure continuously optimizing, statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed.
Traditional strong-performing products, such as chemical active pharmaceutical ingredients and medical devices, have maintained a large share in the global market, while their export scales have steadily increased, according to the ministry.
Moreover, in 2025, Chinese drugmakers signed a record 135.7 billion U.S. dollars through 157 cross-border out-licensing deals, a sharp rise from the 51.9 billion U.S. dollars across 94 deals in 2024. This remarkable growth signals that the global market is increasingly recognizing China's homegrown innovation.
A staff member works at a workshop of a pharmaceutical company in Zhangshu, east China's Jiangxi Province, July 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)
China's pharmaceutical and medical device exports are steadily advancing toward higher value-added sectors, with innovative drugs, high-end formulations and high-performance medical devices becoming the focus, according to officials attending a conference held by the National Healthcare Security Administration on Saturday in Beijing.
Such achievements did not happen by accident. In recent years, China has established various platforms to dismantle information barriers and supply chain obstacles in cross-border medical trade.
On Jan. 13, the China-ASEAN Regional Medical Products Trading (Volume-based Procurement) Platform, the country's first-of-its-kind platform targeting ASEAN nations, concluded its first 2026 transaction: a deal worth over 10 million yuan between Qilu Pharmaceutical and a Thai purchaser.
So far, the platform has attracted 224 domestic drug companies, and received procurement demands for over 170 types of Chinese drugs and medical supplies from countries like Vietnam, Mali and Thailand, greatly injecting new impetus into regional trade.
A visitor talks with an exhibitor at the booth of Chinese pharmaceutical and medical device companies during the fourth Africa Health ExCon in Cairo, Egypt, on June 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
The platform, built on transparency, regulatory credibility, and a shared commitment to public health, serves as a vital bridge of trust between ASEAN nations and China, said the general manager of a Thai pharmaceutical company.
"It has fundamentally transformed our approach to identifying partners, assessing product quality and conducting cross-border business," the manager said, adding that he was optimistic about establishing long-term collaborations with more Chinese partners through this platform.
Other platforms are also under rapid development. China (Xinjiang)-Central Asia Pharmacy, a medical trading platform, was established in 2025 in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, while another platform for Central and Eastern Europe is planned to be built in Ningbo City, east China's Zhejiang Province.
A single purchase
