How big is China’s healthcare market?

It is estimated that by 2025, China will become the world’s largest medical device market.

 In recent years, China’s medical device market has developed rapidly, with a growth rate far exceeding the global average.

China is the world’s second largest healthcare market. According to statistics from relevant research institutions, from 2016 to 2021, the market size of medical devices grew from 391.6 billion yuan to 908.15 billion yuan, with a CAGR of 20%, it is expected that the market size will exceed RMB 2200 billion by 2030, and the CAGR is expected to reach 11% during 2022 to 2030.

In the field of medical device industry division, China’s medical device industry is divided into medical equipment, high-value consumables, low-value consumables and in vitro diagnosis four subdivisions. Among them, medical equipment (refers to instruments, equipment, appliances, materials, etc., used in the human body alone or in combination) occupies the largest market share.

(Diagnostic imaging 30.7%, other medical equipment 28.8%, consumables 17.6%, patient AIDS 8.9%, orthopedics and prosthetics 8.7%, Dentistry 5.3%, data source: Fitchsolutions)

At the level of market size growth trend, the 2023  China medical device Industry Development Status and trend report shows that in 2022, China’s medical device market has exceeded 900 billion yuan; According to the China Medical Device Industry Report 2021, the size of China’s medical device market in 2019 was 629 billion yuan, doubling from 308 billion yuan in 2015.

In terms of purchasing power and market share of public hospitals, public hospitals are still the main buyers of medical equipment. By 2021, China has 36,570 hospitals, providing more than 7.4 million beds and receiving 3.88 billion patient visits, according to the website of the National Health Commission. Of these, public facilities provided 70.2% of hospital beds and received 84.2% of patients.

In terms of the medical device market, China’s medical device market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8.3% between 2021 and 2026, reaching $48.8 billion by 2026. Imports of the medical device market accounted for three-quarters of the Chinese market, while U.S. suppliers accounted for 27.2 percent of China’s medical device imports in 2021, valued at $5.62 billion. Within the sub-sector of the medical device market, diagnostic imaging and consumables account for nearly 50% of the market value.

In terms of the number of manufacturing enterprises and regional distribution, according to the statistics of the Information center of the NMPA, by the end of 2022, there were 32,632 medical device manufacturing enterprises in China, an increase of 6,062 compared with 2021, an increase of 23%. Among them, there were more than 4,000 medical device manufacturers in Guangdong Province, Jiangsu Province and Shandong Province, and 13,840 medical device manufacturers in the three major production provinces, accounting for 42% of the total number of medical device manufacturers in the country.

In terms of import and export, the total import and export of medical devices in 2022 was 808.8 billion yuan, down 7.3% year-on-year. Exports totaled 481.2 billion yuan, down 12.2% year on year; Imports totaled 327.6 billion yuan, up 1% year on year. Medical consumables dominate the export of medical devices, accounting for half of the total exports. In vitro diagnostic reagents and diagnostic and treatment equipment were the secondary categories exported, accounting for 16% and 12% of total exports, respectively. In terms of imports, in vitro diagnostic reagents, medical consumables and diagnosis and treatment equipment are the main import categories, accounting for 75% of the total imports.

On the overall development trend, China’s medical device market is developing rapidly, and the industry has broad prospects. In addition, the future development potential of domestic brands is huge, and domestic substitution is deepening. On the one hand, the recent industry favorable policies to support the replacement of high-end medical equipment imports, the government actively supports the replacement of imported high-end medical devices, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission and other nine departments jointly issued the Fourteen five pharmaceutical industry development Plan, proposed to “promote the industrialization and application of high-end medical devices, focus on the development of stent valves, ventricular assist devices, skull materials, nerve stimulators, artificial joints and spine, sports medicine soft tissue fixation systems, intraocular lenses and other high-end implant intervention products, the development of a number of new medical device products, to improve the contribution to the growth of the industry. In recent years, with the policy to strongly support the development of domestic medical devices, device procurement is inclined to domestic products, and domestic alternatives are extended from low-end to high-end products. On the other hand, the domestic medical equipment manufacturing industry has gradually overcome several technical obstacles, and some products involving implantable consumables, monitors and biochemical diagnostics in the field of in vitro diagnosis have largely achieved the replacement of imported equipment.

In the next 10 years, the market is expected to continue to expand at twice the rate of the global market. In a favorable policy environment, China’s medical device industry will usher in vigorous development, through the precise selection of areas with great potential, enterprises will usher in an era of trillion-level market.

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：Device Market

Translated & edited： Bradyknow