China Healthcare: Govt Calls for More High-Quality Foreign Investments & Collaborations – Positive BD Outlook

Research evidence excerpt

China Healthcare: Govt Calls for More High-Quality Foreign Investments & Collaborations – Positive BD Outlook

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22 Jun 2026 21:52:10 ET │ 8 pages

China Healthcare

Govt Calls for More High-Quality Foreign Investments & Collaborations

– Positive BD Outlook

CITI’S TAKE

On 22 June 2026, China’s MOFCOM announced four incremental

measures under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Stabilization and

Optimization Action Plan, specifically targeting the pharmaceutical sector:

(1) extending cross-border staged manufacturing trials from biologics John Yung, CFAAC

to chemical drugs; (2) expanding pilot zones for biotechnology and wholly +852-2501-2790

foreign-owned hospitals; (3) encouraging commercial insurers to john.yung@citi.com

cover more innovative drugs and devices; and (4) facilitating MNC drug Eva Zhao, CFA

access to retail pharmacy channels. We view these as a coherent package +852-2501-2701

that addresses the full commercialization chain — from manufacturing eva.zhao@citi.com

and market access through to payment and distribution. Critically, the

Zoe Bian

commercial insurance push should directly alleviate some investor

+852-2501-2752

concerns over NRDL pricing pressure, while the retail channel measure zoe.bian@citi.com

could remove a persistent bottleneck for MNC product reach. We view the

new measures as reinforcing existing FDI policies and, more importantly,

setting a welcoming tone to increasing cross-border business

development collaborations, done by MNCs in China’s biopharma

industry.

What’s New – On 22 June 2026, the State Council Information Office convened a

press conference at which Mr. Wang Ya, Director of MOFCOM’s Department of

Foreign Investment Administration, briefed on the pharmaceutical provisions of