New medical center opens in Hainan pilot zone

The Enhanced International Medical Center, with an investment of 1 billion yuan ($156.9 million) from Taiwan, has opened in the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, local authorities said.

Focusing on scientific research and the clinical application of regenerative medicine, the center is the largest healthcare investment project from Taiwan since the Hainan Free Trade Port began to develop last year, they said.

The medical center, covering more than 5 hectares, is equipped with a cell repository, a preventive medicine and chronic disease management center, a sports medicine and rehabilitation center and an anti-aging and medical beauty center.

Lv Xiaolei, deputy director of the pilot zone administration, said the center is strong in sports medicine, orthopedic rehabilitation and immune response. The pilot zone will strengthen overall planning of resources to improve the clinical research capacity of its medical institutions for more providers of innovative drugs and instruments.

The zone was established to promote the initial development of international medical tourism-related businesses and services, such as licensed medical treatment, cancer prevention and treatment, healthcare management, rehabilitation and anti-aging medicines. It benefits from preferential policies that allow the import of medical devices, technologies and drugs and has developed in-depth relations with most well-known global pharmaceutical enterprises, such as Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Astellas and MSD, the zone's administration said.

The Five-Year Plan (2021-25) drafted by the Hainan provincial government said that Lecheng, which is located on the eastern coast of Hainan island, is expected to have attracted about 500,000 people for medical services by the end of the period.

Construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port has provided new opportunities for Taiwan compatriots and Taiwan enterprises to invest and start businesses in Hainan. Healthcare, the seed industry, deep processing of agricultural products, exhibitions and international trade have become key areas for economic cooperation. The flow of high-level talent from Taiwan to Hainan province is also increasing, according to the provincial Taiwan Affairs Office.

It said trade volume between Hainan and Taiwan reached more than 1.7 billion yuan from January to November, a year-on-year increase of 89.4 percent.