China's Evolving Role in the Medical Device Supply Chain

The latest data shows that in medical devices, China's export value reached $48.75 billion in 2024, a year-over-year increase of 7.3%. While imports stood at $35.8 billion, which is year-over-year decrease of 4.7%. Historically, China long relied on imports for mid and high-end medical products, with more imports than exports. However, as China's economy has developed rapidly, the country has prioritized the healthcare industry. This has driven comprehensive industrial upgrading through increased R&D investment, talent recruitment, and supportive policies. These measures have created a vast market space for domestic medical enterprises by promoting innovation and domestic substitution. 

Today, China has become a major exporter of medical products, supplying markets worldwide. Beyond traditional markets like the United States (U.S.), the European Union (EU), and Japan, China has deepened medical supply chain cooperation with emerging markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East through the Belt and Road Initiative. 

Geopolitical factors have impacted the global medical device supply chain in recent years, presenting both challenges and opportunities for China's medical device industry—particularly the U.S. tariff hikes and the EU market access restrictions. 

Since the U.S./China trade friction, the U.S. has imposed tariffs on various medical devices from China, ranging from 7.5% to 25%. In April of 2025, the U.S. announced a "reciprocal tariff" policy, pushing tariffs on some products to high levels. Shortly after, the EU announced a five-year ban on Chinese companies participating in large-scale medical device tenders (over 5 million euros / 41.08 million RMB) under the International Procurement Instrument (IPI), citing security concerns. 

These policy shifts have prompted Chinese enterprises to adjust strategies. Some of these strategies include relocating portions of production capacity to regions like Southeast Asia, the Middle East, or Europe; increasing R&D investment to drive technological innovation; and accelerating the construction of a new "domestic autonomy + overseas distributed" supply chain network to enhance resilience. 

Additionally, to address uncertainties in the global supply chain caused by geopolitical risks, foreign medical device companies have increased investment in China. Multinationals like Siemens, GE, and Medtronic have established R&D and high-end manufacturing centers in places like Shanghai and Shenzhen. Meanwhile, Chinese local medical device firms have expanded overseas investment, from localized marketing and logistics to production, in response to the international market demands and to diversify supply chain risks.