From "Import Substitution" to "Reverse Surpassing": How is China's pharmaceutical industry breaking the international high-end monopoly?

Ask AI · How can China’s medical device industry achieve technological leapfrogging and high-priced exports?

(China News Service) Beijing, April 7 (Reporter Zhao Fangyuan) In the 2026 Government Work Report, for the first time, biopharmaceuticals are listed as a “new pillar industry,” alongside integrated circuits, aerospace, and more—injecting long-term confidence into the entire sector.

Recently, a China News Service reporter visited the International Medical Device City located in Changping District, Beijing, to conduct an on-site investigation into the region’s process of technological innovation and achievement commercialization.

Previously, China’s high-end medical device market was almost monopolized by imported brands, while domestic brands with a higher proportion of export products were mostly concentrated in mid- to low-end markets. But in Changping District, Beijing, the practices of multiple companies show that: China’s solutions can achieve technological leapfrogging—and can even enter mature markets in Europe and the U.S. with higher pricing.

In the exhibition hall of the International Medical Device City, Wang Yingqi, co-founder of Tuang Medical, showed the reporter a set of data: for an ophthalmic swept-source OCT product, scanning speed reaches 400,000 scans per second—several times that of imported comparable products; imaging depth reaches 14 millimeters, also several times that of imported comparable products. “Our product is priced higher than imported comparable products,” Wang Yingqi said.

In 2025, Tuang Medical’s overseas sales exceeded $10 million, with 70% coming from highly mature medical technology markets such as Germany, Spain, and Italy.

In the production workshop at the Xinyuan Technology Park, Zhu Chaohui, general manager of the DaYi Group, introduced the company’s core product, TaiChi—an integrated radiotherapy system. In 2023, the device obtained the U.S. FDA “Breakthrough Medical Device” designation, marking the first time that a large medical device in China received this honor. “An FDA Breakthrough Medical Device designation means there are currently no comparable products on the market, and it offers outstanding therapeutic advantages for major diseases that put patients’ lives at risk,” Zhu Chaohui explained.

From “import substitution” to “reverse leapfrogging,” from the domestic market to the global stage—what exactly are these companies’ competitive “secrets”?

The answer lies in the synergistic effects formed by independent R&D, a clinical-oriented approach, and industry clustering.

Tuang Medical’s R&D investment in the past five years has been close to 100 million yuan every year. “Before we launch each product, we go deep into hospitals, conduct multiple rounds of long-term, in-depth exchanges with doctors, understand clinical pain points, and then move on to technical breakthroughs,” Wang Yingqi said.

DaYi Group is the same. As Zhu Chaohui introduced, the company’s philosophy is “we do nothing that is not innovative, and we do nothing that is not high quality,” insisting on providing products with differentiated clinical value through original research technologies.

The power of industry clustering is also accelerating these companies’ growth. “Industry clustering brings the rapid convergence of talent and upstream and downstream resources. From upstream processing and manufacturing to downstream professional service platforms such as CRO and CDMO, dense deployment here allows us to expand production lines and significantly reduce the cost of acquiring resources,” Wang Yingqi told the reporter. Tuang Medical not only benefits from the advantages of industry clustering, but also jointly builds with the park an international intelligent medical engineering innovation center, promoting rapid technology transfer.

In 2025, the National Medical Products Administration approved 76 domestically made innovative medical devices for listing. The number has stayed at a high level for three consecutive years, covering multiple cutting-edge areas such as artificial intelligence, tumor radiotherapy, and biomedical materials.

With policy dividends continuing to be released, industrial clusters accelerating toward maturity, and the innovation ecosystem being continuously improved, China’s biopharmaceutical industry is expected to truly achieve a historical leap from being a “major pharmaceutical manufacturing country” to becoming a “strong pharmaceutical innovation country,” gaining more say in the global industrial chain. As Wang Yingqi said, “We have gradually moved from being ‘followers’ to ‘leaders’; next, we hope more Chinese solutions can become global standards.” (End)