An international medical tourism service center was launched in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on Wednesday, providing inbound travelers with full-cycle medical services, ranging from visa application to follow-up treatment after they leave the city.
The 17 local pilot hospitals under the program, all comprehensive or specialized ones ranking among the top in China, can offer oncological, ophthalmological, respiratory, and other medical services to inbound patients.
"Guangzhou has good medical resources. There are many national key clinic disciplines representing the city's excellent medical technology and its ability to serve a wide range of patients," said Wang Zilian, vice president of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
As Guangzhou received more than 3.2 million inbound visits last year, the city has seen a rapid increase in demand for international medical care. The center can not only offer inbound travelers with medical services, but also provide services for their family members during their stay in Guangzhou.
"If you want to come from overseas, you will need a visa, and services such as international and local transport, accommodation, and catering. We can meet all the demands. Travelers can have their disease treated during their trips, while having an in-depth experience of Chinese culture," said Wu Chen, general manger of the center.
At the launch event, the city's health commission also released 12 innovative measures to support the development of international medical services, including supporting wholly foreign-owned hospitals in introducing international medical brands to provide services, encouraging high-level hospitals to set up international clinics, and accelerating the promotion of innovative drugs and medical devices.
Guangzhou unveils int'l medical tourism service center
China's zero-tariff policy is widely seen as a major opportunity for African countries, supporting their efforts to improve livelihoods, advance trade upgrading and promote regional stability, African officials and economic stakeholders said.
On Friday, China officially expanded its zero-tariff policy to cover all 53 African nations with which it maintains diplomatic relations. The move aims to create new pathways for African exports and industrialization at a time when global trade faces mounting pressures from protectionism.
The policy builds upon earlier measures: since Dec 1, 2024, China has already eliminated tariffs on 100 percent of tariff lines for 33 least developed countries in Africa. The latest expansion now includes economies that are relatively more developed, such as Kenya, Egypt and Nigeria, opening doors for a broader range of African products to enter the Chinese market duty-free.
Omar Toure, president of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) Commission, noted that economic growth and poverty reduction can contribute to greater stability and peace in the region.
"For us, this is a major opportunity for our countries because China is a massive market and having access to such a massive market for our produce and products is a major opportunity that we must all seize. It will have impact on overall development of our countries through enhanced productivity because as you know, poverty is a key driver of insecurity in our region. The zero tariff policy is likely to advance our development, to support our development, as well as help us entrench peace and security in our region and on the continent," he said.
Beyond expanding market access, the initiative is expected to strengthen Africa's industrialization and help upgrade regional industries, spurring ambitions to pursue global economic involvement.
"It will enhance trading relations between China and the rest of its partners. I think to a large extent, also within Africa itself, it's going to act as a great catalyst for improving trade, for enhancing the economic relations and also for industrialization," said Bianca Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Nigeria.
"China is a very big market, and if you supply to China, it means you will enhance the value of trade or the volume of your exports. And that in itself is monumental. In the sense that, apart from just the value of the export, you get more and more people getting higher incomes and also being able to upgrade their production facilities. So it's really going to benefit Africa in a way that Africa can also begin to participate in a global trade," said David Chewe, Fund Manager of Zambia Export Development Fund.
China‘s zero-tariff policy on Africa applauded as catalyst for boosting bilateral trade, peace
