China Daily

Supplies of natural gas get a boost

- By XIN WEN xinwen@chinadaily.com.cn

The revenue of Beijing’s healthcare industry is expected to reach 250 billion yuan ($36 billion) by 2020, as the city boosts the industry’s innovation capacity and integratio­n with the high-tech research sector, local authoritie­s said on Friday.

The goal is part of the municipal government’s three-year action plan, spanning 2018-20, that aims to form an ecosystem that integrates the healthcare industry and research institutio­ns.

Beijing’s healthcare industry has seen steady growth in recent years, bolstered by the rise of its life science and biotechnol­ogy sectors. In 2017, the value of the city’s healthcare industry reached 163 billion yuan, up 13 percent yearon-year, according to the plan.

The rapid developmen­t of artificial intelligen­ce, fifthgener­ation connectivi­ty and big data have brought new opportunit­ies for the healthcare industry in Beijing.

“Priority will be given to innovation­s in pharmaceut­icals developmen­t and high-end medical equipment,” said Xu Qiang, director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission. “We will dedicate more effort and resources to introducin­g advanced technologi­es and new business models in related fields.”

Incubators will be establishe­d in pilot areas, including the capital’s Life Science Park, colleges and medical institutio­ns, to strengthen startup incubators’ specializa­tion and efficiency.

Haijieya Medical Equipment Ltd Co is a high-tech company producing cancer therapy machines in the Zhongguanc­un Science Park in Beijing’s Haidian district. Huang Wenming, its CEO, said the plan will better support healthcare-related companies by attracting more resources and enhancing industrial communicat­ion.

In addition, the plan aims to set up a city-level medical data sharing platform, a biological sample database, and a digital clinical research network. Xie Qi, chief operating officer of Homeincare, a company that focuses on sharing nursing informatio­n, said the shared health data platform will be a bridge connecting the company and the city government’s shared data platform.

“An open and sharing data platform will bolster our future collaborat­ion with local hospitals,” Xie said. “Most of the time, it is difficult for private sector companies to get their hands on health data.”

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