In the summer of 2015, an event drew record-breaking single-day crowds of over 170,000 professionals to Shanghai solely for the healthcare sector. It was a mega trade event combining the top medical and pharmaceutical events in China, the Health Industry Summit.
With the start of China’s 13th Five-year plan in 2016, the “Health China 2020” program focusing on the co-development of healthcare, pharmaceutical production and health insurance, separation of prescribing and dispensing and the hierarchical medical system has become a national strategy. It comes as one additional boost to many already eyeing the opportunities from the increasingly ageing population and the expected population boom in light of the reversal of the single-child policy. By the end of 2015, over 100 traditionally non-healthcare-oriented traded companies in China had taken healthcare as one of their investment and development priorities, many renaming their company to reflect this new focus, not to mention well-known giants like Lenovo, Fosun, Wanda Group driving a stake into key portions of the sector.
As Reed Sinopharm, the organizer, announced the return of tHIS 2016 to Shanghai on 17-20 April, 2016, hotel prices in key areas of Shanghai for the period have soared, many doubling that of 2015. The massive health industry event will combine 9 exhibitions and over 100 conferences focusing on the health industry. Key events include Healthcare China 2016 – the top investor forum for healthcare, Asia’s leading medical equipment exhibition China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF), China’s leading Pharmaceutical distribution and manufacturing events PharmChina (PC) and API China, and Asia’s largest nutrition and dietary supplement industry event Natural Health and Nutrition Expo.
In order to better serve an estimated 300,000 visiting & exhibiting professionals, investors and conference delegates from 150 countries, the organizer is working actively with various Shanghai government departments and services like Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Police Department, Shanghai Metro and Qingpu District Government to prepare this year’s summit. Solutions like increasing the frequency of the metro service, doubling the number of shuttle buses and catering outlets during the period are all planned. Also to prevent single-day overcrowding on Day 1 of CMEF (April 17), PharmChina and API China will open one day later on 18-20 April, 2016 to professionals.
