By Dong Dandan, China Center for International Knowledge on Development(CIKD) & Zhang Jiahui, Research Department of Social Development, DRC

Research Report, No.14, 2019 (Total 5514) 2019-2-1

Abstract: The pharmaceutical industry is an important industry concerning people’s livelihood and economic development. China is not only a big country of drug consumption but also a big country of drug manufacturing. However, the availability and accessibility of drugs still need to be improved. India’s pharmaceutical industry is growing fast, with high-quality, low-cost generic drugs widely available in the global market. China and India enjoy their respective comparative advantages in pharmaceutical industry and have huge potential and room for cooperation. Strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical field between China and India will help promote the development of the pharmaceutical industry of the two countries, make the road to a healthy China more economical, effective and sustainable, and help maintain South-South cooperation. The obstacles for generic drug from India to enter the Chinese market are basically the same as those for other countries, except that the former entered the Chinese market relatively late. In order to promote the cooperation between China and India in the pharmaceutical industry, five policy options are made as follows: firstly, while expanding the export of China’s crude pharmaceutical products, we need to substantially increase the import of Indian drugs; secondly, we need to formulate a priority import list of Indian drugs; thirdly, we need to give India proper preference in terms of market access; fourthly, we should encourage in-depth cooperation between Chinese and Indian pharmaceutical companies; and finally, the two sides should respect and improve international rules in the process of cooperation.

Key words: pharmaceutical trade, generic drug, India