Exclusive Interview: "China is not only a global strategic market, but also a global innovation hub" - An interview with AstraZeneca's Global Executive Vice President, Yin Sirui

Davos, Switzerland, January 20 (Xinhua) -- Interview with AstraZeneca Global Executive Vice President Yin Sirui: "China is not only a global strategic market, but also a global innovation hub"

Xinhua News Agency reporters Xu Chao and Chen Binjie

During an interview with Xinhua News Agency during the World Economic Forum 2026 Annual Meeting, Iskra Leitch, Global Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in the UK, stated that China's market size, business environment, innovation capabilities, and other factors continue to attract companies to increase investment. "China is not only our global strategic market, but also a global innovation hub.

AstraZeneca entered the Chinese market in 1993 and was one of the earliest multinational pharmaceutical companies to enter China. This enterprise has been deeply rooted in China for more than 30 years, with a cumulative investment of over 5 billion US dollars, and has built a full industry chain layout covering research and development, production, and commercial operations.

Yin Sirui stated that China has become AstraZeneca's second-largest market globally. China not only provides strong support for our global research and development work, but also plays an important role in the international drug supply system

In the past two years, Shanghai and Beijing have successively become the locations of AstraZeneca's two major global strategic research and development centers. AstraZeneca has positioned China as an important manufacturing hub serving the global market by delivering innovative drugs to over 70 countries worldwide through its production and supply base in China.

Why does the Chinese market attract multinational corporations to continue increasing their investment, from initially introducing innovative drugs to actively establishing localized production capabilities and global supply chain networks? In Yin Sirui's view, the organic combination of policy support and planning coherence, sustained stimulation of innovation potential, and full utilization of talent reserves constitute the unique advantages of the Chinese market.

China has become an important source of global healthcare innovation, "said Yin Sirui. In the past four years, the number of drugs under development in China has doubled, and about one-third of global drug authorization transactions are reached with Chinese biopharmaceutical companies." Chinese innovation "plays an increasingly important role in the global business expansion of multinational enterprises.

In addition, a favorable business environment and abundant talent reserves have played a key role in promoting investment, establishing cooperation, and long-term development of enterprises in China.

Yin Sirui stated that from China's "15th Five Year Plan" proposal, the outside world has seen positive signals of China's expansion of high-level opening up to the outside world, as well as new opportunities brought by China's sustained economic growth. Multinational corporations have full confidence in China's long-term development prospects and business environment, and look forward to these forward-looking policies further promoting deeper international cooperation.