China Agrees To Streamline Imports Of U.S. Medical Devices

By Jof Enriquez,
Follow me on Twitter @jofenriq

Chinese trade officials said recently that China will streamline regulations involving the entry of medical devices and pharmaceutical products from the United States. It also promised to improve transparency in anti-trust cases involving American firms.

The commitments came as a result of this year’s Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) bilateral talks held recently in Chicago between Chinese and U.S. trade officials.

"They agreed to cut red tape for imports of new and innovative pharmaceuticals and medical devices and to deal with the backlog," U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker told reporters at the event, according to a Reuters article.

China also agreed to publish the results of administrative proceedings of anti-trust cases involving American companies. It will also allow those companies to consult with their own legal counsel, which will now be able to attend those proceedings under certain conditions, per Reuters.

Earlier in his opening remarks, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said that the annual JCCT meetings play a role as an "extinguisher" and a "driver" in the economic ties between the two nations. He also mentioned that the session can help “lay a solid foundation for the economic cooperation between China and the U.S. in the next year and a period of time to come,” according to an article from the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Pritzker remarked that the promises from Chinese regulators in regards to the medical device and pharmaceutical industries “should lead to (an) increase in U.S. exports and U.S. jobs in these two important sectors,” according to a Fox Business report.

Fox reported that the total trade between the U.S. and China amounted to $617 billion last year.

American medical device companies are pouring investments into China in attempts to strengthen their presence. Johnson & Johnson entered the Chinese market 28 years ago, and it was recently granted approval to produce and market trauma products from its Suzhou plant. Another medical device giant, Medtronic, recently secured approval from Chinese antitrust regulators in regards to its purchase of Covidien. Medical device trade association AdvaMed also received permission from China to establish an office in Shanghai earlier this year.

Despite these moves, however, U.S. companies are still worried that China is reneging on past assurances to open up the market by leaning towards protectionist policies that could favor Chinese companies.

According to the Fox article, “business groups have expressed concern about a wave of Chinese anti-monopoly investigations, suggesting Beijing is improperly using those probes to pressure foreign companies to cut prices or change business practices.”

Recently, a top Chinese official said that the government wants to boost the local medical device sector ‒ a significant move that could threaten the dominance of foreign companies in the country.

In June, investigators also started an anti-dumping probe into foreign dialysis kit manufacturers, although that investigation was cancelled recently, according to a recent Med Device Online story. The government has also tightened medical device regulations, updated clinical and device registration requirements, and imposed heftier fines for corrupt practices in the sector.