The National Health and Family Planning Commission requires all Grade III hospitals to use exclusively domestically produced medical devices.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly convened a conference to promote the development and application of domestically produced medical devices. Li Bin, Director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, stated that priority will be given to encouraging Grade III Class A hospitals to adopt domestically manufactured medical equipment. By accelerating the development of domestic medical devices, expanding their widespread use, leveraging the comparative advantages of Chinese enterprises, reducing medical costs, effectively curbing the unreasonable rise in healthcare expenses, and genuinely easing the financial burden on patients.

Li Bin, Director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, pointed out that promoting the development and application of domestically produced medical devices is an urgent requirement for deepening reform of the pharmaceutical and healthcare system and reducing medical costs. Accelerating the development of domestically produced medical devices, advancing their widespread adoption, leveraging the comparative advantages of domestic enterprises, lowering medical costs, effectively curbing the unreasonable increase in medical expenses, and genuinely easing the financial burden on patients are all essential steps.

Li Bin stated that the National Health and Family Planning Commission has always regarded the promotion and application of domestically produced medical devices and the reduction of medical costs as key priorities, diligently working to ensure their effective implementation. The health and family planning authorities are collaborating closely with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to accelerate efforts to overcome obstacles hindering the development and application of domestic medical devices, thereby fostering a favorable social and policy environment.

Li Bin stated that we must vigorously promote the use of domestically produced medical equipment in health and family planning institutions, with a particular focus on encouraging Grade III Class A hospitals to adopt such equipment. We should leverage market competition to drive overall improvements in the quality of domestically produced medical devices and continuously enhance their performance.

Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, stated that China’s medical device industry has been experiencing sustained rapid development in recent years, with its industrial scale continuously expanding and a preliminary industrial system taking shape—characterized by comprehensive specialized categories, a complete industrial chain, and a constantly optimizing product structure. By the end of 2013, the total sales revenue of enterprises above a designated size reached 328.7 billion yuan, representing an average annual growth rate of 27% since the start of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.

Miao Wei stated that domestically produced versions of commonly used, high-volume medical devices have been achieved, and breakthroughs have also been made in the research, development, and production of some high‑end medical equipment.

Miao Wei stated that, to promote the development of the domestic medical device industry, an incentive mechanism for the proactive use of domestically produced medical devices will be established.

Miao Wei revealed that, for large-scale equipment developed independently in China—not just medical devices—efforts are underway to explore the establishment of a liability insurance system to support the localization of the first units of major equipment. Miao Wei stated that the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission will introduce a new insurance product: participating enterprises will only need to bear a small portion of the costs, while the central government will cover the vast majority—expected to exceed two-thirds—thereby promoting the widespread adoption and application of domestically produced first-of‑its‑kind and initial-batch large-scale equipment.

In addition, in May of this year, the National Health and Family Planning Commission issued a notice entrusting the China Medical Equipment Association to launch the selection process for the first batch of outstanding domestically produced medical devices. The selection scope covers three categories: instruments and equipment, medical devices, and consumables. Zhu Qingsheng, Chairman of the China Medical Equipment Association, stated that the list of the first batch of outstanding domestic devices will be released shortly. A second round of selections for outstanding domestically produced devices will also be conducted in the second half of the year.