Health Group Looks to China For Growth
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Health Industry Forum has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a similar organization in China. IHIF President Kristin Jones says the agreement with the Zhejiang Council For Health Services Promotion will help create a path for Indiana health and life sciences companies to do business with the Asian nation. She says Chinese companies have a need for Indiana-made products ranging from diagnostic equipment to hospital beds. The agreement also includes opportunities for research and clinician training and exchanges involving the two countries.
September 22, 2014
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. and Hangzhou, China — The Indiana Health Industry Forum (IHIF) today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Zhejiang Council for Health Services Promotion (HSP), a counterpart organization in Indiana's sister-state of Zhejiang Province in China. The MOU calls for the groups to collaborate to exchange information, promote products and technologies, engage the university and educational communities, and organize joint meetings with the objective of increasing trade and research opportunities between the two regions. The partnership builds on the work begun by Pacific World Trade (PWT), an Indianapolis-based international advisory and trade development company that was instrumental in the establishment of the sister-state relationship. PWT will be IHIF's representative in China.
IHIF President and CEO Kristin Jones signed the MOU Friday in Hangzhou. “We are please to be able to support and enhance Indiana's long-standing sister-state relationship with Zhejiang Province. Our partnership with the HSP has created a facilitated path to market for our member companies with an interest in doing business in China and we hope to work with Chinese companies and hospitals as they expand their business interests in the U.S.” IHIF plays a leadership role in promoting the Indiana health science industry sector locally, nationally, and globally and this is the second international partnership IHIF has completed this year.
Zhejiang Province is situated on China's eastern coast, just south of Shanghai. The province has one of the most developed healthcare infrastructures in the country. In 2013, the government of Zhejiang spent 35.2 billion RMB (almost U.S. $5.9 billion) on the health sector, an increase of 14.7% compared to 2012. IHIF and the HSP have identified several sectors for collaboration and have already begun exploring opportunities around: bio-bank development, Health IT infrastructure, elder-care technologies, clinician training and exchanges, and medical device and pharmaceutical trade development.
“There are strong opportunities for U.S. companies in China in the rapidly growing healthcare market,” says Dennis Kelley, Principal and Founder of Pacific World Trade, Inc. “Indiana is well positioned to tap into Zhejiang because of the long-standing relationships that have been developed and the work that has been done by IHIF to further strengthen ties in the sector. We look forward to working with IHIF member companies to help them better understand and access opportunities in China”.
About IHIF
The diverse corporate members of the Indiana Health Industry Forum (IHIF) generate the collective voice of the state's health and life science industry. The Forum connects key stakeholders to enhance members' business networks, advocate for member interests, develop workforce skills, and provide strategic vision and leadership in the interest of growing the state's health industry economy and reputation. To learn more, please visit www.ihif.org
About PWT
Pacific World Trade was one of the first Indiana companies to establish operation in China in 1986. Today, PWT has three offices in China: Beijing, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. PWT's primary business activities are in the health, automotive, and nuclear industry sectors. PWT co-founded Indiana's sister-state relationship with Zhejiang Province in 1987 with Governor Robert Orr. PWT has founded more than ten Indiana-Zhejiang sister-cities, including the Indianapolis-Hangzhou relationship.
About HSP
The mission of the Zhejiang Council for Health Services Promotion is:
• To explore new development models of health services in implementing the national and provincial strategies.
• To support workforce development through organizing training programs for members on management and skills.
• To improve the health services in conducting surveys and organizing international study tours, exhibitions and conferences on related products and techniques.
• To establish a provincial platform for R&D and academic exchanges of health services.
• To create a network for increasing the interaction between HSP members and the healthcare industry abroad.
• To play the role of coordinator between the government and HSP members, help the different members in generating the collective voice, and make known the members' ideas and comments to the government.
Source: Indiana Health Industry Forum