National "One Belt One Road" is another big market for medical devices

   The “Belt and Road” initiative demonstrates the new posture of China's all-round opening up of the economy, while also sounding a new clarion call for the global allocation of resources. Chinese medical device companies have responded and are eager to try. However, due to the particularity of the industry, enterprises will encounter many challenges during the journey of the Healthy Silk Road, which will make them uncertain and difficult. What are the pain points?
 
   The medical market demand of countries along the route is vast
   The total population of countries along the “Belt and Road” is 4.4 billion, accounting for 64% of the world, and there is a huge medical demand. Except for a few developed countries such as Singapore, these countries are all developing countries, and their own medical industry is weak, and most of them purchase from abroad. For example, Vietnam and Laos almost all rely on imports for medical equipment.
   After more than ten years of rapid development, China’s medical device industry has ranked first in the world in certain fields of technology; under the same technical conditions, "Made in China" has low cost and high cost performance, which meets the market demand and market space of countries along the "Belt and Road". huge.
   According to relevant data from the Ministry of Commerce, from January to August 2017, among the 64 countries of the “Belt and Road” trade, China’s medical device industry exported 2.834 billion U.S. dollars. The export products consisted of disposable consumables, low-end medical equipment, and rehabilitation supplies. Mainly, private enterprises are the main force, accounting for 68%.
   Undoubtedly, for Chinese medical device companies, there are huge market opportunities in countries along the “Belt and Road”; however, due to the particularity of the medical industry, there are also many potential risks.
   First, the current medical market in the countries along the route is mainly occupied by European and American brands, and there is a lack of awareness of Chinese brands. If Chinese medical device companies want to successfully enter the mainstream medical market of countries along the route, they need a relatively long process of market cultivation.
   Second, the export trade has both competition with existing local market players and competition among outsiders. Many companies are accustomed to price wars, but they don't know that international trade needs to consider more complicated factors such as legal disputes, after-sales service, patent maintenance, crisis public relations, etc., and space for pricing costs must be reserved, otherwise it will fail.
   At the same time, due to different national conditions, the products themselves need to be localized and improved. Once a Chinese company did not understand the operating voltage of the other party's market and caused all the products to fail.
   In addition, countries along the Belt and Road have begun to set barriers to the import of pure medical device products, and hope to guide foreign companies to invest in local investment/joint ventures to build factories to support the development of their own medical industry.
   Third, many medical device companies lack international talents, and send foreign managers and technicians to dissatisfaction, while local hired personnel cannot integrate into the corporate management system, resulting in difficulties in business operations. Of course, there are other complicated reasons, which are not detailed here.
 
   There is a bright future, medical device companies can follow the trend
   Based on the characteristics of the industry, the medical device trade involves stricter registration, supervision, training and service requirements, and requires a lot of manpower and material resources to establish a complete sales service system; if the local investment and establishment of factories in the countries along the route will involve a wider range of enterprises, It is impossible to deal with the above possible risks alone. Even so, how should Chinese medical device companies that are trying to go global?
   Obviously, we can't stand still. Medicine knows no borders, and life is no high or low. Chinese companies have the obligation and responsibility to provide my country's excellent medical products and advanced medical technology to the citizens of countries along the route and seek the common well-being of countries along the "Belt and Road".
   Since a single company is weak, how about a group of companies? What about government power? No doubt the situation will be very different. Based on the opinions of many medical device veterans, we believe that if medical device companies want to travel the Healthy Silk Road smoothly, they need to start from the following aspects.
   1. Study the relevant national industrial policies, connect with relevant government departments and think tanks to obtain information support, and do a good job in the preliminary investigation and strategic planning of developing the "Belt and Road" medical market.
   2. Pay attention to product technology innovation, strengthen corporate international publicity, enhance brand awareness, and shape the image of "Made in China Boutique".
   3. Attach importance to the construction of the talent team, cultivate/introduce international economic and trade compound talents who understand the industry and know how to work, and at the same time attach importance to the training of local medical talents in countries along the route. "Teaching people to fish is not as good as teaching people to fish." While selling products, helping users build a strong technical team will not only increase the added value of products, enhance brand affinity, but also reduce after-sales service pressure.
   4. Establish a medical device enterprise alliance, internally integrate the superior products of member enterprises, and form a theme product line with complementary advantages. The member enterprises trust and benefit each other, form a voice, a force, and enhance overall competitiveness.
   According to the procurement needs of medical institutions in the countries along the route, it provides one-stop integrated procurement solutions, personnel training, financial leasing and other value-added services, from the output of pure medical device products to the output of "product + service" overall solutions, and the whole The output of the medical industry chain.
   5. Step by step implementation of landing plans in countries along the "Belt and Road". Consider first establishing a China Medical Device Economic and Trade Cooperation Park to display and promote high-quality Chinese medical device products and provide full-process supporting services. When the time is right, the China Medical Device Industrial Park will be established to realize localized production of products and achieve deep integration with the local economy.
   6. Actively participate in national foreign medical assistance projects, use government platforms to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with medical institutions in countries along the route, help them build a sound and scientific medical and health service system, promote mutual learning and mutual learning, cooperation and win-win, and form a good "One Belt One Road" industrial atmosphere.
 
   "One Belt One Road" Medical Device Working Group was established
   As the core area of ​​Ningbo's “Belt and Road” comprehensive pilot zone newly approved by Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Meishan International Logistics Industry Cluster is actively striving to create an international supply chain innovation pilot zone and a “Belt and Road” cultural exchange pilot zone.
   Ningbo has gathered a group of excellent medical device companies. How to help these companies go abroad and serve the medical market along the "Belt and Road" is a question that the Meishan government has been thinking about.
   Coinciding with the establishment of the Xinhuanet Health China Promotion Working Committee, Meishan timely communicated with it, signed a strategic framework agreement, and actively assisted the committee to establish a medical device enterprise industry cooperation organization, and held the "Healthy China" medical device industry "area" on November 17. At the “One Road” work forum, the first batch of member companies include excellent medical device companies such as Kangda Medical, Lepu Medical, Mecang Biological, Kailitai, and Weizhuo Guanghua.
   Participants unanimously agreed on the necessity and importance of group travel, and agreed to establish a "Belt and Road" working group, relying on Xinhuanet's three-dimensional communication platform for publicity, holding special forums to communicate with medical and health departments of countries along the route, and setting up special policy research topics to provide Policy recommendations include the establishment of a "Belt and Road" international medical industry exchange center in Ningbo and the creation of a "Healthy China" medical industry community.
   As a new type of national high-end think tank and a national strategy promotion work organization, the Xinhuanet Health China Promotion Working Committee will unite relevant national ministries and commissions and the embassies and consulates of countries along the route to help Chinese medical device companies to carry out various activities in the medical market along the “Belt and Road”. A business model adapted to local conditions.
   Including the construction of a comprehensive application demonstration center, a comprehensive health China industrial park in the local area, and the joint construction of "infrastructure + medical products + medical technology + medical services" in-depth assistance projects with central enterprises.
After striving for thousands of miles, the current Ningbo Meishan International Logistics Industry Cluster will join hands with Xinhuanet Health China Promotion Committee to build a comprehensive medical device service platform, and introduce third-party resources such as law, consulting, registration, and supply chain services to help medical device companies go out At the national level, implement the "Healthy China" and "One Belt One Road" national strategy.