China’s ultrasound market reignites the battle for leadership: localization rate exceeds 42%! GE Ultrasound changes its leader, United Imaging makes a strong entry, will the pattern change in 2026?

The current Chinese medical equipment market is at a new inflection point. Although the performance of various enterprises is still generally under pressure, they may be about to usher in opportunities for a rebound.

According to data from Joinchain Medical Devices, in the first half of 2025, the overall market size of medical device bidding and tendering in China exceeded 80 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 62.75%.

Furthermore, during the interim results conference call, Mindray’s management clearly stated that the growth rate of Mindray’s domestic market sales will turn positive in the third quarter of this year, achieving a rebound.

And the procurement bidding projects in the second half of the year have already become active. In the field of ultrasound, several centralized procurement projects have recently announced the winning bids. In the field of ultrasound, several centralized procurement projects have recently announced the winning bids.

And companies have also been taking frequent actions. Recently, according to media reports, GE Healthcare’s China ultrasound business has completed a key executive adjustment, with Eric Yu formally appointed as the General Manager of China’s ultrasound business line. His resume shows that Eric Yu has over 8 years of experience as a senior executive at Johnson & Johnson Medical, focusing on sales and marketing, and served as the head of Johnson & Johnson Medical’s marketing department before leaving.

This executive arrangement with a “sales + marketing” background may be a key move for GE Healthcare to accurately seize the growth opportunities in the ultrasound market and further occupy the high-growth track.

01 The competition in China’s ultrasound market is fierce, with the localization rate exceeding 42%, and China’s two leading enterprises achieving breakthroughs through differentiation

 In recent years, for foreign-funded brands, the challenges faced by China’s medical market have been comprehensive. On the one hand, it is affected by the macro environment; on the other hand, in the market, Chinese manufacturers have begun to launch an all-round offensive at all levels of low, medium and high.

According to the analysis of the High-end Medical Device Data Center, the localization rate of medical ultrasound equipment has increased from 39.06% in the first quarter of 2024 to 42.67% in the first quarter of 2025. This significant growth is mainly driven by the dual impetus of policy support and domestic technologies.

Driven by policies, the proportion of domestic equipment in the primary medical market in China has been increasing year by year. For example, in the latest reply from the State Council on the “Implementation Plan for the Medical and Health Foundation-Strengthening Project”, it is clearly stated that during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, key support will be given to the construction of about 1,000 compact county-level medical communities, the improvement of infrastructure conditions in county-level hospitals and key township health centers, and the upgrading of equipment in township health centers and community health service centers.

At the technical level, domestic brands represented by Mindray, Sono Scape, etc., have continuously made breakthroughs in core technologies such as color ultrasound image processing and probe sensitivity.

For example, Mindray continues to increase investment in high-end and ultra-high-end ultrasound. At the investor conference, Mindray stated that in the first half of 2025, relying on the continuous volume growth of Resona A20, China’s first domestically produced ultra-high-end ultrasound system for full-body applications, in tertiary hospitals and the improvement of industry concentration, Mindray has firmly maintained its position as the market share leader in China’s ultrasound market. Moreover, the revenue from high-end and ultra-high-end models accounts for more than 60% of its domestic ultrasound revenue.

Sono Scape focuses on the research and development of electronic radial array endoscopic ultrasound (EG-UR5). This device integrates high-definition CMOS imaging technology with advanced probe technology, making it the second manufacturer in the world to master endoscopic ultrasound technology and successfully breaking the monopoly of Japanese enterprises in this field. Furthermore, in the field where ultrasound and surgery are combined, its laparoscopic ultrasound probes can real-time guide operations such as tumor ablation and lymph node dissection during surgery. Since 2023, Mindray Medical has surpassed imported brands for the first time to become the top in terms of market share in China’s ultrasound market. Up to now, the CR3 pattern in China’s medical ultrasound market has remained relatively stable.

In the first half of 2025, based on the statistics of public winning bid amounts, Mindray still ranked first with a proportion of approximately 26%; Philips followed closely with a proportion of about 21%; and GE Healthcare ranked third with a proportion of around 20%. These three leading enterprises (CR3) together accounted for nearly 67% of the market share.

Moreover, from the changes in the average winning bid prices of ultrasound products, it can also be seen that the market is facing a high degree of involution.

02 New players enter the market, the pattern of 2026 is unknown

In October 2024, after business structure adjustment, GE Healthcare has incorporated its ultrasound business into the Advanced Visualization Solutions (AVS) segment. AVS covers multiple fields such as ultrasound, image-guided therapy, interventional solutions, and surgical innovation.

In the first half of 2025, the revenue of GE Healthcare’s Advanced Visualization Solutions (AVS) segment reached 2.529 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 2%. This growth is mainly due to the strong demand in the U.S. market, while the growth momentum in the Chinese market has been affected by delays in hospital procurement.

GE Healthcare has long held a leading position in China’s ultrasound market and demonstrated significant advantages in high-end and ultra-high-end fields. In particular, in the diagnosis of complex diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and tumors, a solid technical barrier has been built.

Whether Eric Yu’s joining this time can help GE Healthcare’s ultrasound business return to its peak remains to be tested by the market. However, in terms of the composition of the talent team, Song Weiqun, the current President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Healthcare China, Chen Chuhui, General Manager of GE Healthcare China’s Advanced Visualization Diagnosis and Treatment Business, and Eric Yu, the newly appointed General Manager of GE Healthcare China’s Ultrasound Business Line, all used to be senior executives of Johnson & Johnson Medical. In the “2024 Ranking of China Competitiveness of Multinational Enterprises in the Great Health Industry”, Johnson & Johnson Medical Technology ranked first in the top 10 MNC medical device enterprises in terms of China’s revenue scale with 100 points.

And the Chinese ultrasound market is about to welcome new powerful players.

On September 2nd, United Imaging Healthcare revealed at an investor event that the company has successfully completed the layout of its ultrasound product matrix, covering ultra-high-end series, mid-range series, portable POC devices, and wireless handheld ultrasound, achieving comprehensive coverage of major clinical scenarios.

Despite facing fierce market competition and policy challenges, deploying the ultrasound product line remains a key part of United Imaging Healthcare’s strategy to improve the entire industrial chain of medical imaging.

As one of China’s four major imaging equipment (CT, MRI, X-ray machines, and ultrasound), medical ultrasound is the image analysis and diagnosis tool with the largest number of installations, the highest number of examinations, the highest safety factor, the fastest examination results, and the best cost performance. In recent years, the development of medical ultrasound in China has been particularly rapid, and its growth rate leads the world (with a compound annual growth rate of about 10%). It is expected to exceed 52 billion yuan by 2029.

Furthermore, given that the profit margin of ultrasound equipment is relatively high, around 60%, it remains an attractive profitable business for medical imaging equipment manufacturers.

In November 2024, at United Imaging Healthcare’s investor relations event, the name of “FENG LIN” (Lin Feng), President of the Ultrasound Division, appeared in the list of reception staff for the first time. This was also the first time that United Imaging Healthcare publicly and high-profilely announced a clear direction for its ultrasound product line.

United Imaging Healthcare has a clear and definite strategic positioning in the field of ultrasound, which is to create “full-coverage, high-performance, digital and intelligent” clinical ultrasound products and solutions for medical institutions worldwide, and achieve comprehensive independent control.

To this end, it has made efforts in several key directions, including building a high-performance imaging platform, breaking through key technologies of sensor platforms, developing a new generation of intelligent imaging algorithms, optimizing the clinical diagnosis experience, and expanding diverse clinical application scenarios. In terms of technical reserves, United Imaging Healthcare has continued to invest in key technical fields such as core components, high-performance algorithms, and intelligentization, laying the foundation for the performance leap of ultrasound products.

As foreign brands accelerate their localization in China, for example, GE Healthcare’s Wuxi base has become the company’s largest global manufacturing base for ultrasound, probes, and life care series products, with a localization rate exceeding 90%. At the same time, Chinese manufacturers continue to make breakthroughs in the field of high-end technologies, and competition in China’s medical market in the new stage may no longer be limited to the boundary between local and foreign capital.

China is encouraging China end uses for more domestic products in latest years. Thus, more and more overseas manufacturers are planning localization in China. BradyKnows localization team has extensive experiences in facility establishment, audit, supplier evaluation, manufacturing, registration, and marketing in China. Pls feel free to let us know any questions on China entry via info@bradyknowsmedical.com

Source：Saibolan Medical Device

Translated & edited：Bradyknown