China's pharmaceutical import and export volume increased by 5 times in ten years

Since joining the WTO in 2001, China's pharmaceutical foreign trade has achieved rapid development. In 2001, China’s pharmaceutical foreign trade totaled only 9.5 billion U.S. dollars. In 2010, this figure has reached 60.2 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of more than 5 times compared with 10 years ago. Among them, imports increased from 4.1 billion U.S. dollars to 20.5 billion U.S. dollars, with a compound annual growth rate of 20%, exports from 5.4 billion U.S. dollars to nearly 40 billion U.S. dollars, and a compound annual growth rate of 25%. Both import and export growth exceeded foreign trade. Level.

Since the opening of the market was significantly improved over the past decade, China’s pharmaceutical foreign trade market has continued to expand, with the number of import and export countries increasing from 196 to 221, covering almost all countries (regions) in the world. In addition, China's pharmaceutical export structure has been continuously optimized, and an export development model based on raw material drug products and high-tech products has been formed. Western medicine raw materials, as an advantageous industry in China, have always dominated the export of pharmaceuticals. In the ten years, the export value has increased from US$2.8 billion to US$20.3 billion, including bulk raw materials such as sodium saccharin, vitamin C, industrial salt of penicillin, vitamin E and paracetamol. Exports have accounted for 90%, 65%, 60%, 44% and 40% of world trade volume respectively.

In the past decade, the main body of China's pharmaceutical foreign trade market has undergone profound changes. From the state-owned, foreign-funded, private-owned and other business structures gradually transformed into a new pattern of private ownership, foreign-funded as the dominant, a variety of ownership forms of common development. Among them, the market share of state-owned enterprises dropped sharply from 60% in 2001 to 20% in 2010, the number of foreign-funded enterprises rose from 32% to 42%, and private enterprises rose from less than 8% to 37%.

Since the technical barriers and trade frictions have risen to the WTO, the overall environment for China's pharmaceutical foreign trade has significantly improved, but with the cancellation or reduction of tariff barriers in foreign markets, technical barriers and trade frictions have risen since entering the WTO, and the difficulty of responding to work has also increased significantly.

In response to technical barriers to trade, since 2001, the Medical Insurance Association has repeatedly carried out international dialogues to reflect corporate demands and safeguard industry interests. In response to the EU's traditional drug registration laws and regulations that may cause serious obstacles to the export of Chinese medicine products, the Medicare Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the domestic industry formally raises industry concerns and opinions through the trade barrier notification mechanism under the WTO framework, which has aroused the European Union’s focus and replies. It played a positive role in properly solving related problems.

In response to trade frictions, the Chamber of Commerce in the past 10 years has led the organization of more than 30 anti-dumping and safeguard measures investigations of foreign anti-dumping work, and has repeatedly initiated damage defenses as an industry representative organization. In several cases including EU anti-dumping cases against tartaric acid, some of the enterprises involved have obtained zero-rate results, or have reached a reasonable quantity/price commitment settlement with the investigation authority.

Overall, the medical trade friction case presented the following characteristics after China's accession to the WTO: First, there was no significant increase in the number of cases; second, the export value of the products involved in the case hit record highs, including India's initiation of my penicillin industrial salt and 6-APA. The amount involved in anti-dumping investigation exceeds 200 million U.S. dollars, which is the highest case amount of anti-dumping cases in China's pharmaceutical industry so far; the third is the diversity of countries initiating investigations, emerging pharmaceutical markets such as Brazil, Russia, and Argentina have initiated anti-dumping measures against my pharmaceutical products. Or safeguards investigations, while the traditional markets such as the European Union, India, etc., as the main sponsors of trade remedy cases against China, have not changed, and trade frictions have involved diversification across the country as a whole. Fourth, the products involved have moved from raw materials to medical devices. With the extension of the field, high-tech medical products, including patient monitors, have become new targets for investigations.

In order to nurture pharmaceutical foreign trade from big to strong, we should further increase multi-lateral support for foreign trade in medicine. According to the forecast of international authoritative institutions, the emerging pharmaceutical market countries represented by China will contribute more than 50% to the growth of the global pharmaceutical market, of which China will become the third largest pharmaceutical market in the world in 2011, with an average annual growth rate exceeding 25%. The scale of more than 50 billion US dollars. Under such circumstances, it is proposed to implement a series of measures involving taxes, prices, and trade facilitation in accordance with the policy requirements of the “12th Five-Year Plan” and the new industry promotion policy on improving the international competitiveness of the pharmaceutical industry, and vigorously promote the development of pharmaceutical foreign trade. .

At the same time, we must step up the strategic research on the “going out” issue in the pharmaceutical industry. How to expand the pace of “going out” in the new round of opening up to the outside world, obtain timely international advanced technology and talents through investment, mergers and acquisitions, and cooperation, and thus seize new heights in the international pharmaceutical industry, is it possible to achieve leapfrog development in the pharmaceutical industry? The key issue is also a strategic issue that needs to be resolved. It is suggested that relevant departments set up research topics on this issue as soon as possible, and organize related personnel to discuss and formulate the overall strategic development plan for the pharmaceutical industry going out and follow up.

(The author is the president of the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products)

Since joining the WTO in 2001, China's pharmaceutical foreign trade has achieved rapid development. In 2001, China’s pharmaceutical foreign trade totaled only 9.5 billion U.S. dollars. In 2010, this figure has reached 60.2 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of more than 5 times compared with 10 years ago. Among them, imports increased from 4.1 billion U.S. dollars to 20.5 billion U.S. dollars, with a compound annual growth rate of 20%, exports from 5.4 billion U.S. dollars to nearly 40 billion U.S. dollars, and a compound annual growth rate of 25%. Both import and export growth exceeded foreign trade. Level.

Since the opening of the market was significantly improved over the past decade, China’s pharmaceutical foreign trade market has continued to expand, with the number of import and export countries increasing from 196 to 221, covering almost all countries (regions) in the world. In addition, China's pharmaceutical export structure has been continuously optimized, and an export development model based on raw material drug products and high-tech products has been formed. Western medicine raw materials, as an advantageous industry in China, have always dominated the export of pharmaceuticals. In the ten years, the export value has increased from US$2.8 billion to US$20.3 billion, including bulk raw materials such as sodium saccharin, vitamin C, industrial salt of penicillin, vitamin E and paracetamol. Exports have accounted for 90%, 65%, 60%, 44% and 40% of world trade volume respectively.

In the past decade, the main body of China's pharmaceutical foreign trade market has undergone profound changes. From the state-owned, foreign-funded, private-owned and other business structures gradually transformed into a new pattern of private ownership, foreign-funded as the dominant, a variety of ownership forms of common development. Among them, the market share of state-owned enterprises dropped sharply from 60% in 2001 to 20% in 2010, the number of foreign-funded enterprises rose from 32% to 42%, and private enterprises rose from less than 8% to 37%.

Since the technical barriers and trade frictions have risen to the WTO, the overall environment for China's pharmaceutical foreign trade has significantly improved, but with the cancellation or reduction of tariff barriers in foreign markets, technical barriers and trade frictions have risen since entering the WTO, and the difficulty of responding to work has also increased significantly.

In response to technical barriers to trade, since 2001, the Medical Insurance Association has repeatedly carried out international dialogues to reflect corporate demands and safeguard industry interests. In response to the EU's traditional drug registration laws and regulations that may cause serious obstacles to the export of Chinese medicine products, the Medicare Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the domestic industry formally raises industry concerns and opinions through the trade barrier notification mechanism under the WTO framework, which has aroused the European Union’s focus and replies. It played a positive role in properly solving related problems.

In response to trade frictions, the Chamber of Commerce in the past 10 years has led the organization of more than 30 anti-dumping and safeguard measures investigations of foreign anti-dumping work, and has repeatedly initiated damage defenses as an industry representative organization. In several cases including EU anti-dumping cases against tartaric acid, some of the enterprises involved have obtained zero-rate results, or have reached a reasonable quantity/price commitment settlement with the investigation authority.