On December 28, 10 departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Health Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Medical Insurance Administration, the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the State Food and Drug Administration jointly issued the “14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Medical Equipment Industry.”
The “Plan” points out that medical equipment refers to the sum of related hardware, software and integrated systems developed and applied to protect the life safety and health of the people. Its development is related to the implementation of the Healthy China Strategy and the Manufacturing Power Strategy, to the equipment guarantee for public health emergencies, and to the improvement of people’s quality of life and well-being. During the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” period, my country’s medical equipment industry has developed rapidly, the market scale has expanded rapidly, the manufacturing system has been basically sound, business entities have grown and expanded, and product technology levels have rapidly improved, basically meeting the needs of my country’s medical institutions for diagnosis and treatment, elderly care, chronic disease prevention and emergency rescue, etc.
The “Plan” emphasizes that the development of the medical equipment industry during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period must be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Plenary Sessions of the 19th Central Committee, based on the new development stage, completely, accurately and comprehensively implement the new development concept, build a new development pattern, and adhere to the people-centered development thinking. We want to coordinate development and safety, implement the strategic deployment of a healthy China and a strong manufacturing country, focus on clinical needs and health protection, strengthen medical-industrial collaboration, promote technological innovation, product innovation and service model innovation, enhance the level of advanced industrial foundation and industrial chain modernization, promote the high-quality development of the medical equipment industry, and provide strong support for ensuring the safety and health of the people’s lives.
The “Plan” proposes that by 2025, the medical equipment industry foundation will be advanced and the industrial chain modernization level will be significantly improved. Mainstream medical equipment will basically achieve effective supply. The performance and quality level of high-end medical equipment products will be significantly improved, and a comprehensive support capability for public health and medical health needs will be initially formed.
The “Plan” puts forward key tasks during the “14th Five-Year Plan” period focusing on key development areas such as diagnostic testing equipment, treatment equipment, monitoring and life support equipment, traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment equipment, maternal and child health equipment, health care and rehabilitation equipment, and active implantable interventional devices. First, improve technological innovation capabilities by strengthening the construction of industrial basic capabilities, improving the modernization level of industrial and supply chains, and improving the construction of common industrial technology platforms. The second is to enhance effective supply capabilities by strengthening original and leading medical equipment research, strengthening innovative research on clinical applications, and accelerating the development of intelligent medical equipment. The third is to enhance international competitiveness by strengthening the cultivation of high-quality enterprises, promoting the development of industrial clusters, and improving the level of intelligent manufacturing of enterprises. The fourth is to promote the development of the new “5G + medical and health” model, promote the integrated development of home communities and medical and health care, improve emergency medical rescue support capabilities, and enhance all-round service capabilities. Fifth, improve basic support capabilities by establishing and improving a standard system, a sound safety protection system, and a sound industrial basic platform system.
The “Plan” deploys five special actions, including an action to tackle key industrial bases, an action to improve the supply capacity of key medical equipment, an action to build a high-end medical equipment application demonstration base, an action to improve emergency medical rescue capabilities, and an action to improve the medical equipment industry and application standard system.
The “Plan” clarifies the safeguard measures to promote the high-quality development of the medical equipment industry, proposes innovative support models, promotes promotion and application, strengthens talent cultivation, strengthens intellectual property protection, deepens open cooperation, and strengthens organizational coordination.