China plans to allow wholly-owned foreign hospitals in Shenzhen and seven other cities as well as the island province of Hainan, the Ministry of Commerce said on September 8.

In addition to Shenzhen, foreign hospitals will be allowed to set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, and Fuzhou in Fujian Province, the ministry said in a statement released on its official website.
Such hospitals should not specialize in traditional Chinese medicine, the statement added.
Specific conditions, requirements, and procedures for establishing such a hospital will be released later, said the statement jointly released with the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration.
The move is part of efforts aimed at expanding opening-up in the healthcare sector, attracting foreign investment to promote upgrades of medical services and better meeting the demands of the public, said the statement.
It added that foreign-invested enterprises are allowed to research and develop technologies of human stem cell, gene diagnosis and treatment in the pilot free trade zones of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, as well as the Hainan Free Trade Port.
They can also apply for market registration and mass production licenses in China for their products and approved products can be used nationwide.
The statement also calls for stepping up services for foreign enterprises willing to participate in these trial programs. The notice also urged government departments to strengthen coordination and supervision to rein in risks that might arise with the new technologies.