China plans to allow wholly foreign-owned hospitals in some areas, Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Sunday it would allow wholly foreign-owned hospitals in nine areas of the country, including the capital, as Beijing seeks to attract more foreign investment to boost its sagging economy.

In a document on the official website of China’s Ministry of Commerce, it said the new policy is a pilot project designed to implement the commitment that the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee, led by Xi Jinping, and -did at the plenary meeting in July, which took place roughly every five years.

“In order to…introduce foreign investment to promote the high-quality development of China’s medical fields and better meet people’s medical and health needs, it is planned to conduct pilot activities to expand opening up in China. the medical field”, according to the document.

The project will allow the establishment of such hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hainan – all relatively wealthy cities or provinces in eastern or southern China.

The new policy excludes hospitals practicing traditional Chinese medicine and “mergers and acquisitions of public hospitals,” the document said, adding that specific conditions, requirements and procedures for setting up such foreign-funded hospitals would be detailed soon.

The policy also allows foreign-invested companies to engage in the development and application of genetic and human stem cell technologies for treatment and diagnosis in the pilot free trade zones of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and Hainan.

This includes the registration, marketing and production of products that can be bought at the national level, according to the document.

The lifting of restrictions on foreign investment in these areas comes as the world’s second-largest economy faces headwinds, with weakened foreign business sentiment one of the issues threatening growth.