Whenever I visit China, I am reminded of my first trip here, more than 30 years ago.

At that time, I was asked to represent Pfizer at one of the first trade conventions ever opened to foreign investors. China was, to us, new and differentand yet, even then, we could sense its potential.

But who could have envisioned that China would move so far and so fast?

Today, China continues to climb the value chain in manufacturing, moving from "supplier" to a more fully integrated force in global manufacturing. 

While China's fast growth in manufacturing is welcome news, China's leadership is already looking to the next step, understanding that manufacturing alone cannot sustain the level of economic growth China needs.

President Hu Jintao set the tone for China's future in the world's "brainpower industries" with his call last January for China to speed up its transition to an innovation-based economy.

In addition, innovation was the theme of the recently concluded National People's Congress. The 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) calls for significant increases in spending aimed at greater innovation. These and other high-profile calls from leaders reflect longer-term efforts to capitalize on China's growing brainpower.

All of the trends that exist in China today  the call for brainpower industries, significant increases in technical investment, and history's largest pool of scientific talentis a heady mix in my business. Add in other dynamic factors that exist in China, including a population of 1.3 billion people, a roughly 10 per cent annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, 6,000 Chinese companies already engaged in pharmaceuticals, growing demand for better healthcare, and you have a prescription for explosive growth in the life sciences.

I believe that China can reach for global greatness in the life sciences sooner rather than later. The largest beneficiaries of this greatness will be the people of China, and the patients of the world.

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