Minister Wang Wentao meets collectively with the American Association of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturing Companies and executives of multinational pharmaceutical companies.

On the afternoon of March 21, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao held a collective meeting with the President and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, as well as the heads of five multinational pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, AstraZeneca, Roche Group, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Oucarbon. The two sides exchanged views on the development of foreign-funded pharmaceutical companies in China and issues of concern. Wang Wentao stated that multinational pharmaceutical companies have been deeply rooted in the Chinese market for many years, continuously increasing their research and development innovation efforts, and making China their global research and development base. The "Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan" of China clearly states the implementation of a development strategy prioritizing health, positioning biopharmaceuticals as an emerging pillar industry, strengthening intellectual property protection, improving policy transparency and regulatory efficiency, and providing new opportunities for multinational pharmaceutical companies to participate in the construction of a "Healthy China". Wang Wentao pointed out that not long ago, the economic and trade teams of China and the United States held the sixth round of dialogue and consultations, engaging in candid, in-depth, and constructive exchanges and negotiations, reaching some new consensus. The Chinese side has always believed that the essence of China-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and stable, healthy, and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations will provide stable expectations for multinational companies operating and developing in China. The associations and heads of multinational pharmaceutical companies attending the meeting stated that China plays a pivotal role in the global pharmaceutical market, has integrated into the global biopharmaceutical innovation ecosystem, remains optimistic about the development prospects of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry, and is willing to increase investment, introduce more international cutting-edge products and technologies to China, and contribute to the construction of a "Healthy China".