Government Planning and Policy for the Health Industry

Abstract

Health-related sectors have become increasingly strategic for the structural change that the Chinese government is pursuing. After a brief sketch of the institutional setting, the chapter first illustrates the main health policies, that is the major reforms that China has undertaken with respect to the provision of healthcare and to the financing of healthcare services. Then, the analysis summarises main policies for the health industry, that is the strategic guidelines and the specific interventions targeting health-related manufacturing sectors, with specific reference to the biotechnology industry, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and the pharmaceutical sector. The chapter ends with a zoom on the latter, with a specific focus on the restructuring process which has characterised the industry in the last decades by means of mergers and acquisitions.