Release date:

2020-09-15

The 29th Annual Academic and Technical Exchange Conference of the China Association for Medical Device Industry was held in Beijing on September 13, 2020, at 15:30. Beijing Zhongrui Huakang Medical Equipment Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Ruiran Group, was invited to participate. This year’s conference, themed "Intelligent Connectivity of Supply and Demand: Driving Innovation and Development," featured a simultaneous online and offline opening ceremony for the Medical Equipment Cloud Expo. The event brought together representatives from relevant government departments, renowned experts and scholars, as well as medical equipment manufacturers, who engaged in in-depth discussions and exchanges on topics such as innovation in medical equipment development, clinical applications, and the integration of industry, academia, research, and practice. The gathering aimed to explore new directions for medical equipment manufacturing, ultimately supporting the Healthy China initiative. Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, emphasized that developing medical equipment is a key strategy for advancing healthcare technology and ensuring public health security. He highlighted that the current era is witnessing rapid advancements in science and technology, leading to accelerated innovation in the medical equipment sector. These developments are characterized by three major trends: faster-paced breakthroughs in innovation, increasingly evident cross-sectoral integration, and continuous transformation in service models. To further foster collaboration between medical equipment and cutting-edge technologies, he urged the industry to embrace innovative R&D approaches, adopt transformative service methods, expand product portfolios, enhance quality, and build strong brands—thereby strengthening the core competitiveness of the medical equipment industry. Liang Wannian, Director-General of the Institutional Reform Department at the National Health Commission, noted that while China’s medical equipment sector has experienced rapid growth in recent years, there remains an imbalance in development, with excessive focus on the production and R&D of hardware devices. Looking ahead, he stressed the importance of fostering coordinated efforts in talent cultivation, policy formulation, and other areas, while encouraging enterprises and innovators to drive forward innovations in public health-related medical equipment and technologies. By doing so, the industry can better leverage medical devices to support both routine healthcare needs and emergency responses, ultimately enhancing public health outcomes. Zhao Zilin, Chairman of the China Association for Medical Device Industry, pointed out that the post-pandemic era is ushering in growing demand for medical equipment, presenting both opportunities and challenges for the industry. He called for maintaining the sustainable and healthy growth of medical device companies, promoting technological innovation, and accelerating the clinical application of advanced medical equipment. In this context, he advocated for creating new momentum amid changing circumstances, while also pioneering a fresh ecosystem for the medical equipment sector. Sun Zhicheng, Deputy Director-General of the Social Development Department at the National Development and Reform Commission, underscored that high-quality medical equipment serves as a vital indicator of a nation’s overall strength, providing essential material support for safeguarding public health and ensuring people’s safety. He highlighted how critical medical equipment—such as those used in intensive care, diagnostics, and testing—played a pivotal role during the pandemic, helping save lives, improve recovery rates, and reduce mortality and disability rates. Looking ahead, Sun emphasized the need to rapidly enhance the capacity of public health infrastructure, including medical equipment, to meet the evolving demands of national public safety in the new era. He called for accelerating the establishment of a robust public health service system, leveraging both the country’s unique advantages—the innovative “national system” model and its vast domestic market—to drive progress in this area. Meanwhile, Luo Junjie, Director-General of the First Division of Equipment Industry at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed several critical gaps in China’s medical equipment industry, including the need for breakthroughs in key raw materials and components, as well as urgent improvements in product performance and quality. He stressed the importance of fully harnessing the strengths of China’s unique national system and its massive market potential, while reinforcing the central role of market forces in resource allocation. With enterprises at the forefront and guided by clinical needs, he encouraged the wider adoption of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and 5G to jointly promote the safe and reliable development of high-end medical equipment. Li Lanjuan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, member of the National Health Commission’s High-Level Expert Group, and Director of the National Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, delivered a video address highlighting how the pandemic has reshaped conventional clinical practices and created new demands for medical equipment. She emphasized the need to strengthen smart public health systems, integrating big data and blockchain technologies into a unified response framework. Additionally, she advocated for greater emphasis on data sharing and interoperability, while also pushing for the expansion and evolution of internet-based healthcare platforms. Ultimately, she called for building integrated systems that seamlessly combine medical care, research, education, prevention, and industrialization—forming a comprehensive approach to infectious disease control. Finally, Professor Qiu Haibo, Vice President of Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University, reiterated the critical role that top-tier comprehensive hospitals must play in serving as strategic pillars during major public health crises. He suggested that future medical education and training should prioritize the development of specialized clinical programs focused on critical care, while simultaneously bolstering talent pipelines within these crucial disciplines.