The Chinese healthcare market is experiencing an unprecedented growth that is presenting burgeoning opportunities for Flemish companies. China is now the second largest market in the world for medical devices and pharmaceuticals. China’s healthcare service market is also quickly becoming one of the largest in the world. Healthcare reform has become one of the priorities of the Chinese government. It is expected that the industry will grow from RMB 6 trillion to RMB 17 trillion between 2020 and 2030. This sharp rise derives from an ageing population coupled with an increasingly affluent population.

Taking into account these opportunities, the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce will organise a 6-module course focused on helping companies to enter the Chinese market. This project is aimed at innovative companies in the pharma, biotech, medtech, medical insurance and nutrition sectors.

The programme will give participants a better understanding of the general Chinese healthcare market. Business executives will learn about the general healthcare landscape and how it has evolved, as well as the opportunities and the challenges, best practices and lessons learned, negotiation tactics, legislation, product registration, financial incentives, production and sales.

The series of webinars will end with a matchmaking meeting, where participants will have the opportunity to introduce themselves to potential Chinese partners and investors.

Practical

Each webinar will take between one-and-a-half to two hours in which experts will set out the context and offer their own experiences. Our specialists will be from both China and Belgium, and all sessions will be held in English.

Timing

1st session: 10 May, 2022 10:00 - 11:30 CET
2nd session: 11 May, 2022 10:00 - 11:30 CET
3rd session: 12 May, 2022 10:00 - 11:30 CET
4th session: 17 May, 2022 10:00 - 11:30 CET
5th session: 18 May, 2022 10:00 - 11:30 CET
Final session: 20 May, 2022 10:00 - 11:30 CET

The series will be held online via Zoom. A digital syllabus of all sessions will be included.

Webinar 1: Market opportunities and challenges in China's healthcare sector

In this webinar, we will provide an insight into the current market situation and prospects. What are the opportunities presented by the Chinese government, what is the market access situation, and how can companies respond to them? What are the challenges in the Chinese market? What are the regulatory differences between China and the EU? How do you go about product registration? These questions and more will be discussed.

Webinar 2: Practical testimonials & negotiating with Chinese partners - Cultural differences and preparation for participation in trade fairs

In this webinar, business leaders from the healthcare industry will share their experiences of how they have entered the Chinese market. There will be a chance to ask them questions in order to ensure you are prepared to enter the vast market.

It is very important to understand cultural differences between China and the West, and the nuances that have to be picked up. We will offer an overview of those differences as well as explaining how this translates into negotiating. Some companies fail to succeed in China because they overlook these differences.

You will learn how best to prepare for and participate in the hybrid conferences and match-making summits in China.

You will be educated on the things that you need to know for successful participation in trade fairs. You will also obtain the list of most relevant trade fairs in the healthcare sector.

Webinar 3: Legal aspects: Different legal forms of entering the Chinese market and IP protection

In this webinar, we will guide you on the different ways to enter the market, i.e., exporting, licensing, tech transfer, joint venture and by wholly-owned foreign enterprise. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods will be explored. Additionally, we will provide recommendations on which method suits what kind of company best.

Production registration is essential and will be further discussed.

In the same session, we will discuss the importance of intellectual property. You will learn how to protect your IP, trademark, trade secrets in China.

Webinar 4: Funding and investing

In this webinar, you will learn about the range of different investment funds and how they can support you when entering and investing in the Chinese market. This will be followed by practical cases.

Webinar 5: Production, export & sales in China

In this webinar, we will cover how to facilitate production and make it as efficient as possible. We will introduce participants to the different production and development zones in China, and the advantages of each. Certain FTZs offer additional assistance and benefits.

We will explain what financial incentives are on offer, such as some programmes which allow investors to deduct research and development costs.

We will discuss the most important considerations to factor in to ensure a successful entry into the Chinese market, how to address specific challenges for technology companies and how the Flanders Investment & Trade team in China can support you.

Followed by testimonials: Setting up a production & sales facility in China.

Webinar 6: Matchmaking session

Concluding our programme, we will present potential partners in China to help you take advantage of the burgeoning opportunities in the China healthcare market.

We are recording all sessions and will distribute them to all participants afterwards. That will allow you to review the content at your leisure.

Who should attend?

This programme is aimed at executives interested to enter the Chinese market covering the following sectors: medical devices, pharma, biotechnology and medical insurance.

Who are the speakers?

Webinar 1: General understanding of the healthcare market
• Franck Le Deu, Senior partner at McKinsey Greater China, co-leader Asia Life Sciences practice

Webinar 2: Testimonials, negotiation and preparation of trade fairs
• Bart Boschmans, Flemish Trade Commissioner in Shanghai
• Henk Joos, General Manager, Agio Capital & Business Solutions
• Stephen Powell, CEO, eTheRNA immunotherapies - biotech/pharma

Webinar 3: Legal aspects
• Valentin de Le Court, Counsel IP, Osborne Clarke
• Philippe Snel, Founder & Partner, DaWo Law Firm Shanghai

Webinar 4: Funding and investing
• Koen Van Loo, CEO, Federal Participation and Investment Corporation
• Steven Levecke, Investment Director, Capricorn Partners
• Caroline Steensels, Teamleader Financial Support, Flanders Investment & Trade
• Bertrand Grimmonpré, CFO, Miracor Medical

Webinar 5: Production, export & sales in China
• Peter Tanghe, Science & Technology Counsellor, Flanders Investment & Trade, Guangzhou
• Felix Zhang, General Manager, Televic Asia
• Herman Raats, Founder & CEO, Shanghai Yumou Industrial Development Company
• Su Zeng, Representative, Flanders Brabant Province and Pom Antwerp in China

All sessions will be moderated by Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce/EU-China Business Association.

Organization

This project is organized by the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce with the support of Smart Hub Flemish Brabant, Flanders Investment & Trade, Be-Sup, Essenscia, Flanders.bio, Flanders.healthTech, Leuven Mindgate, MedTech Flanders, Unizo, VIB, and Voka Health Community.