Red tape cut for new drug approvals – China’s latest business and technology news
A summary of the top news in Chinese business and technology for October 9, 2017. Part of the daily The China Project newsletter, a convenient package of China’s business, political, and cultural news delivered to your inbox for free. Subscribe here.
China’s State Council announced new rules for approvals for drugs and medical devices, intended to speed up the process by cutting red tape and allowing the use of data from clinical trials performed outside of China. Bloomberg says that the new rules should ease “bottlenecks” in the approvals process and present “a growth opportunity for international and local drugmakers in the world’s second biggest pharmaceutical market.”
In other healthcare news, the New York Times reports (paywall) on a study that tested 487 treatments from purveyors of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Hong Kong. The result: The researchers found “1,234 hidden ingredients, including both approved and banned Western drugs, drug analogues and animal thyroid tissue” in the samples tested.
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Thailand
Why are Chinese high-speed train plans going off the rails overseas? / SCMP
“The multibillion-dollar Sino-Thai high-speed rail project has again hit a delay — this time an environmental assessment threatens to derail the beleaguered scheme.”
Thai air safety upgrade opens up growing China, Korea, Japan markets / Reuters -
Monetary policy
PBOC official says China’s RRR cut won’t alter resolve to lower risk: state media / Reuters -
Golden Week holiday
Double-digit growth in daily retail sales over ‘Golden Week’ / SCMP
Ofo releases National Holiday cycling report: Lhasa shows highest increase in usage / TechNode
WeChat travel report shows Hong Kong top destination for mainland tourists / TechNode -
Economic indicators
Services sector activity weakens in September, Caixin survey shows / Caixin
