On the afternoon of April 21, Yin Li, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, had separate meetings with Shriti Vadera, Chair of the Board of Prudential plc, along with other Prudential global board members and the senior management team, and Peter Arduini, President and CEO of GE HealthCare, along with the GEHC senior management team.
Yin said that the Chinese government has formulated and introduced the 15th Five-Year Plan, putting forward a series of important measures for financial development. Beijing, as China’s national political center, cultural center, center for international exchanges, and center for technological innovation, leads the country in commercial insurance development. At present, Beijing is vigorously promoting the development of high-end, precision, and cutting-edge industries, with emerging industries growing rapidly. The city is also strengthening investment in areas such as urban renewal, which is in line with the investment trends of insurance funds in recent years and will provide broader space for insurance companies to grow. The city is continuously expanding institutional opening up in the financial sector and fostering a first-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, enabling and internationalized. This year, Beijing also introduced a number of measures to support the high-quality development of commercial health insurance. Yin encouraged Prudential to further expand its insurance business in Beijing and keep tailoring its services to market needs, as well as actively develop cross-border asset management services and support Beijing’s efforts to become a global wealth management center. Prudential plc is also encouraged to strengthen investment cooperation with Beijing in key areas such as scientific and technological innovation, the digital economy, urban renewal, and new infrastructure, so as to share in Beijing’s development opportunities. He also expressed Beijing’s commitment to improving services for enterprises and creating more favorable conditions for their development in the city.
Yin said that Beijing has always been committed to improving the health of the public and promoting the development of the medical industry. The city’s medical and health industry is marked by strong healthcare demand, robust R&D capabilities in pharmaceuticals and medical devices, rapid industrial growth, and continuously optimized policy services. For three consecutive years, Beijing has introduced 32 measures to support the high-quality development of innovative medical products, providing a package of supportive policies for the fast-track approval, expanded production, and hospital use of medical devices. These measures will bring more opportunities for medical and health enterprises to develop in Beijing. Yin noted that GE HealthCare Beijing Imaging Equipment Manufacturing Base has become the group’s largest production and R&D base worldwide. He expressed the hope that GE HealthCare will further deepen cooperation with Beijing in industrial investment, scientific and technological innovation, digital healthcare, international trade and other fields; continuously enhance its localized production capacity for advanced devices and key equipment; strengthen collaboration with upstream and downstream enterprises across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; and jointly improve the competitiveness of the regional biomedical industry cluster. He also encouraged the group to strengthen its R&D headquarters in Beijing, promote the efficient commercialization and application of innovation outcomes, and actively participate in the development of Beijing’s smart healthcare system. Yin further called on GE HealthCare to support supply chain enterprises and facilitate the global expansion of domestic innovative medical devices, while also introducing more innovative devices and advanced therapies to China. Beijing will continue to provide comprehensive services throughout this process.
Global board members of Prudential plc, including Baroness Shriti Vadera, Sir Douglas Flint and Anil Wadhwani, expressed their gratitude for Beijing’s strong support for the group’s development in the city. They said that Beijing is home to abundant resources in education and science and technology, as well as a strong talent base. With commitment to Beijing and to the Chinese market as a whole, Prudential will increase investment and business presence, deepen cooperation with Beijing in commercial insurance, asset management, green finance and other fields, and encourage more multinational companies to invest and develop in Beijing. Arduini said that the Chinese market is of vital importance to GE HealthCare. The group will continue to increase its investment in Beijing, work with the city to explore practices in medical sci-tech innovation and the application of artificial intelligence technologies, and launch more world-leading medical devices, so as to bring more benefits to patients in China and around the world.
Sun Shuo, Vice Mayor of Beijing, attended the meetings.
