Italy shares full confidence in China's innovative medical field

Following stable trade exchanges in the medical field between Italy and China over the past years, Italy has full confidence in continuous growth in this realm and beyond in the China market, said executives with the country's governmental trade agency and chamber of commerce during the 2024 China Medical Equipment Fair.

There will certainly be more and deeper opportunities for cooperation between the two countries, which are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership this year, said Augusto Di Giacinto, Trade Commissioner of the Shanghai office of Italian Trade Agency, an governmental organization of the country to support and promote exports and cooperation of Italian enterprises abroad.

"The presence of 12 innovative enterprises from Italy with cutting-edge technologies in respective areas, including diagnostics, imaging, equipment for ambulances and testing, at this year's CMEF, demonstrated our belief in the potentials of the China market," said Di Giacinto during the fair. The fair concluded in Shanghai on Sunday.

"All the Italian exhibitors expressed how they were extremely impressed by the fair, which attracted over 5,000 companies to participate, showing the vitality of the Chinese market," he said.

Italian medical device industry is pretty advanced, they said, with more than 4,400 enterprises in this industry. The revenue of the industry reached 15 billion euros ($16 billion) in 2023 following a stride from the previous year, and the volume of exports far exceeded that locally, according to statistics from the agency.

China is Italy's seventh largest export destination regarding medical devices, with total exports nearing 160 million euros last year, according to the governmental figure of Italy.

Valtero Canepa, coordinator of the healthcare working group of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce, said China's increasing demand for quality and innovation supported many Italian industry players' expectation for continuous growth in the China market.

"The Chinese market is evolving. Its government has shown unprecedented interest in introducing innovative therapies and diagnostic tools for patients at an accelerated pace," said Canepa, who is also general manager at Bracco Sine, an Italian pharmaceutical company that has been present in China since 2001.

Some medical industry players from Italy have recently entered the China market, being attracted by the country's higher interest for innovation, he said. He raised an example of an Italian enterprise specializing in vitro diagnostics. It opened a factory in shanghai last year and planned to have continuous growth in its presence.

"China ranks as the world's second in the market value for pharmaceuticals and is very likely to become No 1 in medical devices pretty soon. There is still much space for Italian companies to improve their performance and seize the chances in China," said Canepa.

The two countries will cooperate in various aspects of the health industry chain covering areas such as the design of nursing components, pharmaceuticals, health services, management of patients with acute and chronic diseases, training of medical staff, and high-tech technical solutions, he said.