Medicine show to boost trade
( 2003-12-08 09:11) (China Daily)
A specialized exhibition focusing on pharmaceutical ingredients, with the goal of boosting industry trade between China and the rest of the world, is set to open Monday in Shanghai.
About 460 exhibitors including some 100 overseas firms from more than 20 countries and regions such as the United States, France and Japan are slated to attend the three-day event, known as CPhI China 2003, and cover an exhibition space of 16,000 square metres.
Organizers have predicted more than 13,000 people from home and abroad will visit the fair.
"CPhI plays an important role in promoting domestic pharmaceutical producers and their products and enhancing exchange and co-operation between Chinese pharmaceutical groups and the rest of the world," said Zhang Changxin, deputy director of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Medicines and Health Products Importers and Exporters. The chamber is hosting the event at the Shanghai Everbright Exhibition Centre with CMP Information, a subsidiary of the Britain-based United Business Media. According to Zhang, China is the world's second largest producer of pharmaceutical ingredients, with an annual output of 560,000 tons. Last year, the country's exports totalled about US$3 billion.
But the country is also a big consumer. It imported US$1.3 billion worth of pharmaceutical ingredients and US$900 million worth of Western patent medicines in 2002.
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