Drugdu.com expert's response:

Currently, China's high-end medical equipment industry is at a critical stage of rapid rise and transformation. Driven by policy support, technological breakthroughs, and an upgrading market demand, it is undergoing a historic leap from "following the lead" to "running alongside" and even "taking the lead" in certain fields. However, the industry as a whole still faces challenges such as achieving breakthroughs in core technologies, increasing market share, and enhancing international competitiveness. Below is a detailed analysis of the current state of China's high-end medical equipment industry:

Market Size and Growth

Continued Market Expansion: China has become the world's second-largest medical instrument market, with the high-end medical device sector also experiencing continuous growth. For instance, in 2024, the market size of high-end medical devices in China reached RMB 580 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 21.3%, significantly outpacing the global average growth rate.

Robust Growth in Sub-sectors: From a product structure perspective, sub-sectors such as medical imaging equipment, high-value medical consumables, and in vitro diagnostic devices are growing rapidly. Medical imaging equipment accounts for the largest share at 38%, with market growth rates for large-scale equipment like MRI and CT machines remaining above 15%. High-value medical consumables account for 32%, with accelerated import substitution for products such as cardiovascular intervention devices and orthopedic implants. In vitro diagnostic devices make up 22%, with high-end products like gene sequencers and flow cytometers experiencing rapid growth.

Technological Innovation and Breakthroughs

Achieving Breakthroughs in Core Technologies: Propelled by precise policy support and sustained technological efforts, China's high-end medical equipment industry has achieved technological breakthroughs in multiple fields. For example, the introduction of the world's first 8cm wide-body photon-counting CT represents a technological leap from "energy integration" to "photon counting," marking a new era in CT imaging technology. Additionally, significant progress has been made in areas such as surgical robots, rehabilitation robots, and gene sequencers.

Accelerated Innovation through Interdisciplinary Integration: Currently, technological innovation in the medical instrument industry is characterized by deep integration of "AI + interdisciplinary fields." AI-assisted diagnostic systems have become the "second brain" for doctors, automatically identifying lesions such as pulmonary nodules and brain tumors through deep learning algorithms, thereby improving diagnostic efficiency severalfold while reducing missed diagnosis rates. Surgical robots, leveraging precise operations and minimally invasive advantages, are penetrating into high-difficulty fields such as neurosurgery and cardiovascular surgery from general surgery.

Domestic Substitution and International Expansion

Accelerated Domestic Substitution: In the high-end medical equipment sector, domestic companies are transitioning from "following the lead" to "running alongside" and even "taking the lead." For example, in the medical imaging equipment field, the market share of domestically produced CT and MRI machines has significantly increased, with some high-end models entering top-tier hospitals in Europe and the United States. In the cardiovascular intervention device field, domestically produced drug-eluting stents and biodegradable occluders offer performance comparable to international brands at significantly lower prices.

Deepened International Expansion: Chinese high-end medical equipment companies are accelerating their internationalization efforts, enhancing international competitiveness and market share through expanding overseas markets, establishing overseas branches, and engaging in international collaborations. For instance, United Imaging Healthcare's PET/CT equipment has successfully entered the French market, marking the first breakthrough for large-scale domestically produced high-end medical equipment in France.

Policy Support and Improved Industrial Ecosystem

Increased Policy Support: The national government has introduced a series of policy measures to support and regulate the development of the high-end medical device industry. For example, in the "14th Five-Year Plan," high-end medical devices are listed as a key development area; local governments are also accelerating industry布局 (industry layout) through special funds and tax incentives.

Gradual Improvement of the Industrial Ecosystem: China's high-end medical equipment industry has formed a closed-loop ecosystem encompassing "R&D - manufacturing - application - service." In the R&D sector, the three major industrial clusters in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Bohai Rim regions have become innovation hubs leveraging university resources and industrial chain advantages. In the manufacturing sector, domestic companies have achieved autonomy and controllability from components to complete machines through vertical integration and intelligent transformation. In the service sector, emerging business models such as telemedicine, equipment leasing, and data management have emerged.

Challenges and Opportunities Coexist

Challenges: Despite significant progress, China's high-end medical equipment industry still faces issues such as technological barriers, cost challenges, and trade risks. For example, in the large-scale equipment field like high-end CT and MRI machines, the market share of domestically produced equipment remains low; in terms of core components and raw materials, some still rely on imports.

Opportunities: With the upgrading of global healthcare demands and the driving force of the technological revolution, China's high-end medical equipment industry is embracing unprecedented development opportunities. Emerging application areas such as instant delivery, shared mobility, and leisure and entertainment are providing new growth points for the industry; simultaneously, national policy support and growing market demand are offering vast space for industry development.