Waigaoqiao Bonded Area forms deeper connections between government and enterprises

With specific measures to upgrade the strategy of the free trade zone and improve the business environment, the Waigaoqiao Bonded Area is dedicated to becoming a "government partner" of enterprises, providing comprehensive strategic services, to grow and develop together with enterprises.

Hence, a series of activities aimed to establish a cooperation and exchange platform between local government and enterprises was launched on Thursday.

The first session features officials in charge of free trade and the medical industry as well as senior executives from global medical equipment giants, to leverage the wisdom of top-notch talent with international perspectives and global patterns in the medical equipment industry.

Zhang Xi, deputy director of the Shanghai free trade zone's administrative committee, and director of the bonded area administration, pointed out that to build world-class innovative industrial clusters such as biopharmaceuticals is one of the important tasks for the upgrading strategy of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

"The bonded area of the Shanghai free trade zone is also making every effort to build an international medical device manufacturing base, as well as a leading area for cross-border research and development and production of cell and gene therapy industries," he said.

Ti Gong

Will Song, chairman of Johnson & Johnson China and president of Johnson & Johnson Medical China, said, "One important aspect of success in China is how to accelerate our development in the new era, with innovation driven approaches to help achieve the ambitious goal of Healthy China 2030.

"We have established an end-to-end R&D center in our Zhangjiang Science and Technology Park, with over 600 top scientists from around the world.

"Some projects are in China for China, while others are in China for the world. China is also the only market outside the United States where Johnson & Johnson has end-to-end research and development capabilities in various departments."

Wen Daxiang, director of the Shanghai Health Commission, introduced that on December 22, 2020, the National Drug Review and the Yangtze River Delta Branch of the National Medical Device Review officially settled in the Pudong New Area.

"This is unprecedented, extending drug and medical device review services to your doorstep. I believe that the enterprises present here are more or less beneficiaries," Wen said.

"We should move forward and be able to take initiative," Wen said.

Zhang Yihao, global vice president, president and chief executive officer of General Electric Healthcare in China, said, "My feelings are particularly profound. One important aspect of innovation is a good business environment. Today's session is the best answer.

"In our free trade zone, in Pudong, and in Shanghai, there is such a good business environment …

"In addition to comprehensive domestic production and unbounded innovation, it is necessary to promote win-win cooperation. In a geopolitical environment, we must promote win-win cooperation.

"Our Foreign Investment Act is very clear and treats all equally. In the Chinese market, we are doing these things, and we must have cooperation. This is not something that a single enterprise can achieve," Zhang said.