Health & Beauty

According to recent data, China has signed more than 200 "One Belt/One Road" cooperation documents with 149 countries and 32 international organizations. In addition, according to customs data, in the first half of 2022, China's total pharmaceutical trade with countries along the "One Belt/One Road" reached US $35.152 billion, up 1.52% year on year, and the bilateral trade volume reached a new high in the same period of the previous year. Customs data showed that the export value was 27.235 billion US dollars and the import value was 7.917 billion US dollars. In fact, in the past five years (2016-2021), the import and export volume of China's pharmaceutical trade in the markets along the "One Belt/One Road" has increased year by year (see the figure for details).

The export of traditional Chinese medicine increased by 16.75% year-on-year

According to customs data, in the first half of this year, the amount of Chinese traditional medicine products exported to the markets along the "One Belt/One Road" was 905 million US dollars, up 16.75% year on year. The highest share of the export market in the segment is plant extracts, with an export volume of 478 million US dollars, up 35.56% year-on-year, with the fastest growth rate.

Contrary to the year-on-year growth of the export volume of traditional Chinese medicine, in the field of medical devices from January to June this year, the total trade volume between China and the markets along the "One Belt/One Road" reached 17.481 billion US dollars, of which the export volume was 14.099 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 1.33%. From the perspective of categories, the export market size of dental equipment and materials grew the fastest, with a year-on-year increase of 27.44%; One-time consumables accounted for the largest proportion, with exports of 5.968 billion US dollars, up 15.80% year on year.

According to customs data, in the first half of 2022, the export value of the markets along the "one belt/one road" of western medicine products fell by 2.05% year-on-year to US $12.231 billion. Among them, the export of raw materials remained strong, with an export volume of 9.328 billion US dollars, up 41.19 percentage points year-on-year; The export of Western patent drugs increased steadily by 9.67%, with the export value of 1.186 billion US dollars; Affected by the decline in the export of COVID-19 vaccine, the export volume of biochemical drugs was US $1.718 billion, down 64.21% year on year.

The performance of the three major export markets is different

According to customs data, South Korea, Vietnam and Italy are the top three markets for China's pharmaceutical trade exports along the "One Belt/One Road". The export volume in the first half of this year was US $2.865 billion, US $1.736 billion and US $1.688 billion respectively.

the republic of korea

From January to June this year, the bilateral pharmaceutical trade volume between China and South Korea reached a record high, reaching 3.753 billion US dollars, up 5.11% year on year. Among them, China's exports to South Korea amounted to 2.865 billion US dollars, up 10.04% year on year; The import volume was US $888 million, down 8.18% year on year.

From the perspective of the structure of pharmaceutical products, the largest category of products exported by China to South Korea is medical devices. In the first half of 2022, the export volume of this field to South Korea was 1.226 billion US dollars, down 4.29% year on year. Western medicine products took the second place, with exports of 1.475 billion US dollars, up 23.96% year on year; Traditional Chinese medicine products accounted for the smallest share of exports to South Korea, with an export volume of US $164 million, up 23.62% year on year.

Vietnam

In the first half of this year, the bilateral pharmaceutical trade between China and Vietnam reached 1.982 billion US dollars, up 17.80% year on year. Among them, China's export to Vietnam was 1.736 billion US dollars, up 20.28% year on year; The import volume was US $247 million, up 2.88% year on year. From the perspective of trade scale, Vietnam is China's second largest pharmaceutical trading partner along the "One Belt/One Road".

From the perspective of the structure of exported medical products, the largest product category is medical devices, with the export volume of 867 million US dollars in the first half of the year, up 5.69% year on year; The proportion of traditional Chinese medicine was the smallest, with the export value of 172 million US dollars, down 33.29% year on year; The export value of western medicine was 541 million US dollars, up 30.25% year on year.

Italy

Italy is China's third largest pharmaceutical trade partner along the "One Belt One Road". The bilateral pharmaceutical trade volume in the first half of this year was 3.142 billion US dollars, down 1.02% year on year. Among them, China's export to Italy was 1.688 billion US dollars, up 4.01% year on year; The import volume was US $1.454 billion, down 6.28% year on year.

From the perspective of the structure of pharmaceutical products exported to Italy, western medicine accounted for the largest proportion. In the first half of the year, the export volume of such products was US $1 billion, up 48.40% year on year; The export value of medical devices was 644 million US dollars, down 29.76% year on year; The export market of traditional Chinese medicine was small, only US $44 million, up 10.43% year on year.

Overall, in the first half of this year, despite the repeated COVID-19 epidemic and the severe and complex international environment, the export of some of China's pharmaceutical products showed a trend of ups and downs, but the market demand for products such as APIs and medical devices remained stable, and the export to the markets along the "One Belt/One Road" also continued to grow. At the same time, with the continuous development of China's pharmaceutical innovation, China's innovative drugs and biological similar drugs with more cost-effective in the future also have the opportunity to expand the markets along the "One Belt/One Road", and the export structure of China's pharmaceutical products is expected to be further optimized.