China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia. Only two decades ago, China was a poor agricultural country but now it becomes the third-largest economy in the world.

1, China’s pharmaceutical market
The has shown impressive growth in recent years, in tandem with the country’s rapid economic expansion. In the past twenty years, China’s pharmaceutical market has an averaging between 18 – 20% growth, significantly higher than US and European growth during that period (7 – 9%). The total pharmaceutical market is expected to grow to $27.7 billion by the year 2005, to become the world’s largest pharmaceutical market by 2020.

2, China’s pharmaceutical industry
China has a large domestic pharmaceutical industry, providing 80% of China’s pharmaceutical consumption. In 1995, approximately 3,000 domestic state pharmaceutical enterprises produced a total output of $12 billion, of which more than $3 billion was exported, according to the State Pharmaceutical Administration of China (SPAC). The Chinese pharmaceutical industry has increased in value with an annual average growth rate of 16.72% over the last few decades.

However, the industry is still small-scale, with a scattered geographical layout, duplicated production processes, and outdated manufacturing technology and management structure. The Chinese pharmaceutical industry also has a lower market concentration and weak international trading competitiveness, coupled with a lack of patented pharmaceuticals developed in-house.

As China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO), it needs to integrate more completely into the global economy. The international competition will place an intense pressure on the Chinese pharmaceutical industry and further open the door to a lucrative market for non-Chinese companies, especially for pharmaceutical producers and manufacturers. Accession to the WTO binds China by fundamental WTO principles, such as improved transparency and the strengthening of commercial legal procedures. China’s WTO commitments include the tightening of rules on intellectual property, tariff concessions, and market access of non-Chinese service suppliers engaging in the distribution of pharmaceuticals. All such moves create additional business opportunities for non-Chinese pharmaceutical companies in China, and in turn, place an intense pressure on the Chinese pharmaceutical industry.

So, over the past few years, Chinese pharmaceutical firms have been merging to improve economies of scale, concentrate resources, and increase competitiveness through vertical integration. Many large, state-owned pharmaceutical companies are also transforming their ownership structures into joint ventures or public companies to become more efficient. According to the SPAC, China aims to become the world’s leading producer of pharmaceuticals and medical devices and instruments in the first half of this century.

3, China’s pharmaceutical foreign trade

In recent years, many Chinese pharmaceutical enterprises take part in the international pharmaceutical market. They not only export patent medicine but also assist their global partners in shortening the cycle and lowering the cost of drug discovery and development by providing cost-effective and efficient outsourcing solutions, for example, pharmaceutical intermediate. Some Chinese pharmaceutical companies even appear in the Nasdaq market successfully, such as WuXi PharmaTech (WX.NYSE) and Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (SCR) etc.

Electronic commerce is introduced to the pharmaceutical enterprises. is one of the most famous B2B website in China. It provides various trade leads including pharmaceutical information among China factory, manufacturers, suppliers, and global buyers.

The pharmaceutical trade shows supply the platform to the leading manufacturers, suppliers and buyers both at home and abroad. Many pharmaceutical companies attend the China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF), China International Oral Care Technology & Equipment Exhibition and Shanghai International Medical Equipment and Furnishment Exhibition ?IMEFE? and so on. CMEF is Asia Pacific’s biggest exhibition serving the entire value chain for the medical devices market. China International Oral Care Technology & Equipment Exhibition is organized by the China Oral Care Industry Association, Exhibition Center of China Light Industry. The Show covers oral care products, raw and auxiliary materials, packaging materials, manufacturing and packaging equipment, oral medical equipment and materials.

4, China’s pharmaceutical market trend

First, the price of pharmaceutical products will continue to decrease steadily. In June 2004, the price of 400 antibiotics in 24 categories, including penicillin, was reduced by, on average, 35%. The total value affected by this reduction was US$42 million. The central government has been playing a significant role in pharmaceutical price readjustment. According to industry experts, future price reductions will originate from hospital pharmaceutical retail shops.

Secondly, the rural pharmaceutical market will shift significantly. According to Information Times, 80% of counterfeit products are consumed in rural areas. This provides a huge opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to develop the market in rural areas.

Thirdly, China will become the largest pharmaceutical R&D base in the world. In recent years, more and more western pharmaceutical enterprises, such as GSK, Roche, Novo Nordisk, etc, have come to China and set up R&D centers. Twenty world leading pharmaceutical companies have established joint venture manufactories in China. Some have even set up sole propriety manufactories. Currently, amongst the largest 500 overseas enterprises, 14 of them are pharmaceutical companies.

Due to all things above, that foreign enterprises will begin an OTC price war in future years. Based on expert analysis, foreign enterprises have been closely monitoring the expanding OTC market. With a GDP of more than $2, 108 billion in 2006. Experts forecast that by 2020, China will be the world’s largest economy.

Shanghai is situated in East China, at the place where the Yangtze River and the Qiantang River converge into the sea, and that territory is part of the alluvial plain of the Yangtze Delta. Shanghai is not only the biggest city in China, the eighth biggest city in the world, and one of the four municipalities of China which is under the direct control of the Central Government. It’s also the best and most impressive city, or, in other words, it is the city in China that is most worthy of the title of municipality. Like Beijing, Shanghai is a place of the country which every person of the whole nation yearns for. Shanghai is above all a place held in high esteem by people all over the country.

The Municipality covers a total area of 7,037.50 square kilometers (ranking as the 31st by size among administrative regions of the provincial class). Of this total area, land accounts for 6,340 square kilometers (still expanding in construction work), waters account for 697 square kilometers, and the urban districts account for 289 square kilometers.

At present, there are more than twenty million people living and working in Shanghai and her adjoining areas. The city has a population of 18.5422 million (in the year 2007, i.e. the 25th by size among administrative regions of the provincial class of China). The population density is 3,154 persons per square kilometers (by 2008, or the 3rd among administrative regions of the provincial class of China). The urban population of Shanghai is 14,530,000 persons (by 2007, or the first among the cities of China). The natural growth rate of permanent residents of the Municipality is 3.04 0/00.

It has become the biggest economic center of today’s China and the largest trading port on the globe. The Shanghai harbor may now be considered the biggest harbor on the globe because it handles the largest volume of freight in the world. It may also be mentioned here that the urban area of Shanghai now has 6,000 high-rise buildings—three times the number in New York.
In the beginning of the 1990s, the Shanghai government launched a series of new strategies to attract foreign investments. The biggest move was to open up Pudong, once a rural area of Shanghai. The strategies succeeded, and now Pudong has become the financial district of Shanghai, with numerous skyscrapers.

Almost every Chinese knows that China cannot do without Shanghai, in the same way that the United States cannot dispense with New York. Today Shanghai’s goal is to develop into a world-class financial and economic center of China, and even Asia. In achieving this goal, Shanghai faces competition from Hong Kong, which has the advantage of a stronger legal system and greater banking and service expertise. Shanghai has stronger links to the Chinese interior and to the central government in addition to a stronger manufacturing and technology base. Since the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC, Shanghai has increased its role in finance, banking, and as a major destination for corporate headquarters, fueling demand for a highly educated and westernized workforce.