Published by ChinaMNC · Haikou

China’s New Pharma Plan: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for the pharmaceutical industry sets out ambitious goals and 25 tasks. Foreign founders can use this guide to understand the direction of policy and the opportunities for their China-based operations.

China’s New Pharma Plan: What Foreign Founders Need to Know

China’s government has released a major policy plan for the pharmaceutical industry, covering the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The plan, jointly issued by ten government departments, sets out goals through 2030 and 25 key tasks. For foreign founders building or operating a company in China, the plan signals the sectors that will receive policy attention and the kinds of capabilities that will be valued.

This article summarizes the official interpretation of the plan. It focuses on practical implications for foreign founders and avoids speculation beyond the source document.

What the Plan Covers

The plan is formally titled the “Pharmaceutical Industry Development 15th Five-Year Plan.” It was issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the National Healthcare Security Administration, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and the National Medical Products Administration.

The plan describes pharmaceuticals as a strategic emerging industry that affects national security and public wellbeing. It also identifies the sector as a key area for cultivating “new quality productive forces” and as an emerging pillar industry.

Recent Achievements Cited in the Plan

The official interpretation lists several results from the previous plan period. These figures are useful context for foreign founders assessing the baseline of China’s pharmaceutical sector.

• Value-added output of pharmaceutical enterprises above designated size grew by an average of 4.1% annually and accounted for about 3.6% of total industrial value-added.
• 230 innovative drugs and 292 innovative medical devices were approved for the market.
• The number of new drugs under research ranked second globally.
• Breakthroughs were reported in high-end pharmaceutical excipients, reagent consumables, medical device raw materials, and core components.
• Vaccines, drugs, and medical devices based on multiple new technology routes were developed, approved, and scaled up rapidly, contributing to major epidemic prevention and control efforts.

Why the Plan Was Issued

The plan’s background section cites several factors. The period through 2030 is described as a critical time for building a manufacturing powerhouse and a Healthy China. It is also seen as an opportunity for industrial restructuring, innovation-driven transformation, and greater global influence.

The 2026 Government Work Report called for accelerating the development of biomedicine as an emerging pillar industry. At the same time, China’s population is aging, and public health needs are shifting toward full life-cycle management. The plan argues that stronger top-level design and planning guidance are needed to support innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.

Overall Approach

The plan’s overall requirements are broad. It states that the plan follows the guiding ideology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and implements the spirit of the 20th Party Congress and related plenary sessions. It also refers to the new development philosophy, the new development pattern, and the goal of basically achieving new industrialization.

For business readers, the practical emphasis is on high-quality development, people-centered health, cultivation of new quality productive forces, innovation, resilience and security, digital and intelligent integration, precision diagnosis and treatment, efficiency improvements, value creation, affordability and accessibility, and open and mutually beneficial cooperation.

Goals Through 2030

The plan sets out qualitative goals for 2030. According to the interpretation, biomedical research and application should remain among the world’s leading levels. Innovation-driven efficiency should be fully released, and systematic breakthroughs should be achieved in key core technologies in priority fields.

The plan also envisions digital and intelligent empowerment across the entire industrial chain, a precision medicine system that supports comprehensive prevention and treatment of major diseases, a maturing collaborative ecosystem for factors of production, and expanded industrial development space. It calls for solid production and supply guarantees, a substantial rise in core competitiveness and international influence, and deep integration into global pharmaceutical innovation networks. The industry is expected to become a national emerging pillar industry and to support the manufacturing powerhouse and Healthy China strategies.

Expected Indicators

The plan includes expected indicators for the 15th Five-Year Plan period. These are not binding targets, but they indicate the direction of policy expectations. They cover industrial scale and efficiency, innovation, enterprise cultivation, and cluster development.

Scale and efficiency

• Operating revenue of pharmaceutical enterprises above designated size should exceed RMB 3.5 trillion.
• The innovative drug industry should grow at an average annual rate of more than 20%.
• The number of products with annual global sales exceeding USD 1 billion should reach at least 5.

Innovation

• Listed pharmaceutical companies should reach an average annual R&D investment intensity of at least 10%.
• The number of new drug R&D pipelines entering first clinical trials and the number of innovative drugs approved for market should rank among the world’s leading positions.
• First-in-class drugs should account for more than 25% of the global total.
• The number of innovative medical devices approved for market should reach at least 200.

Enterprise cultivation and clusters

• The number of pharmaceutical enterprises with annual operating revenue exceeding RMB 10 billion should reach 50.
• The number of pharmaceutical industrial parks with output value of RMB 100 billion should reach 20.

Eight Areas and 25 Tasks

The plan organizes 25 key tasks under eight areas. These headings are relevant to foreign founders because they show where regulatory, financial, and industrial policy support may be directed.

1. Guide industry toward innovation and excellence. Strengthen original innovation, use industrial innovation platforms, cultivate innovative drugs and devices, and plan frontier technologies and products.
2. Strengthen foundations and advantages. Build a resilient and secure system by consolidating industrial foundations, maintaining competitive advantages, and cultivating new growth drivers.
3. Improve quality and efficiency through digital and intelligent transformation. Deepen artificial intelligence applications, promote digital and intelligent transformation, and accelerate green development.
4. Develop precision diagnosis and treatment. Promote precision prevention products, expand precision diagnostics, and build a precision treatment ecosystem.
5. Unlock the potential of factors and ecosystems. Improve clinical translation, engineering scale-up, and industrial coordination.
6. Expand value creation. Deepen health value, enhance social value, and cultivate cultural value in the pharmaceutical industry.
7. Optimize production and supply. Improve diversified safeguard systems, strengthen quality supply of essential drugs and medical devices, and improve access to medicines.
8. Deepen international cooperation. Enhance industrial competitiveness, raise cooperation levels, and increase market attractiveness.

Implementation and Coordination

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will coordinate implementation. The plan calls for using inter-ministerial coordination mechanisms to align strategic planning, major projects, major programs, and support policies. It also calls for coordination across industry, science and technology, regulation, healthcare, medical insurance, finance, and talent policies.

Specific measures mentioned include optimizing review and approval mechanisms, improving pricing, payment, and use policies, strengthening public communication on pharmaceutical and health products, supporting talent, and giving play to the role of industry organizations.

Practical Takeaways for Foreign Founders

For foreign founders, the plan is a signal of policy priorities rather than a set of direct obligations. Several practical points follow from the source text.

• Innovation is central. The plan emphasizes original innovation, first-in-class drugs, and innovative medical devices. Foreign founders with differentiated pipelines may find a supportive policy environment.
• Scale and clusters matter. The expected indicators point to larger enterprises and industrial parks. Locating in a recognized pharmaceutical cluster may offer advantages in resources and coordination.
• Digital and intelligent capabilities are valued. The plan explicitly promotes artificial intelligence and digital transformation. Founders should consider how their China operations can demonstrate these capabilities.
• International cooperation is encouraged. The plan calls for deeper integration into global innovation networks. This may create opportunities for cross-border partnerships and collaboration.
• Implementation involves multiple agencies. Because ten departments issued the plan, founders should expect coordination across regulation, healthcare, insurance, and commerce when operating in China.

Foreign founders should note that the plan sets expected indicators, not guarantees. The source text does not provide details on market access, licensing timelines, or tax incentives. Those matters are governed by other laws and regulations.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.