US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews and 11 representatives from US health companies arrived in Chongqing on Oct 19 to attend the US-China Advanced Medical Technology Symposium.

The half-day event was Held on Oct 20, and the event invited government officials, academics and industry leaders to discuss key issues in healthcare such as women’s health, oncology and non-curable diseases.

Chongqing is the second stop of a health care business development mission led by Andrews in China. The visit is aimed at promoting synchronized collaboration between health care industries in the two countries.

Andrews outlined the challenges that face both countries and urged the two sides to not only take advantage of the opportunities to build connections, but to also partner with cutting-edge US health care technology firms.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews delivers remarks at the opening ceremony of US-China Advanced Medical Technology Symposium in Chongqing on Oct 20. [Photo/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chongqing now has 19,800 health care institutions and 631 hospitals, and the need for primary care is on the rise. Greater economic cooperation between the two health care sectors must be realized to meet the demand, according to officials.

So far, Chongqing has approved 567 foreign-funded enterprises to settle in the municipality, with a total registered foreign capital of $1.85 billion. More investments from advanced medical technology firms from the US are expected to be made in the future.

Edited by Jacob Hooson