On September 21, 2023, a recent report from Jiangxi Province shed light on Xiangjiang County’s ambition to stand out as a key player in the biopharmaceutical industry. With 177 biopharmaceutical companies and more than 170 high-level professionals in the sector, the county achieved an impressive revenue of 15.14 billion yuan this year, a 2.5-fold increase since 2016.
Faced with growing competition in this expanding market, local authorities are taking innovative steps to enhance the oversight of grassroots People’s Congress representatives, focusing on specialized fields to inject fresh momentum into the high-quality development of the industry.
During a recent interview with representatives from the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Congress, conducted as part of a larger event celebrating the 70th anniversary of the People’s Congress, we visited the Xiangjiang Biopharmaceutical Comprehensive Testing Center. This facility features cutting-edge testing equipment designed to support local businesses.
“This is the first comprehensive biopharmaceutical testing center at the county level in Jiangxi Province,” explained Wang Xigen, the Party Secretary of the Xiangjiang County Market Supervision Administration. He emphasized the historical challenges biopharmaceutical companies faced locally, such as lengthy wait times and high costs for testing. Recently, numerous representatives have echoed concerns about the need to accelerate the development of the county’s biopharmaceutical industry.
“We’ve received feedback from dozens of companies about the hardships they encounter in testing during our visits at the end of 2023,” shared Luo Jun, a representative from the Jiangxi Provincial People’s Congress and an internal medicine physician at Xiangjiang County People’s Hospital. While the testing center was already under construction, it still required provincial approval for certification.
At a Jiangxi Provincial People’s Congress meeting earlier this year, Luo proposed support for Xiangjiang County’s “three centers, four platforms” model for biopharmaceutical development. By May, the Xiangjiang Biopharmaceutical Comprehensive Testing Center officially began trial operations, showcasing tangible benefits from these legislative efforts.
Pang Hui, the head of Jiangxi Zhongke Baishi Pharmaceutical Co., offered his insights on the impact of the new testing facility. “Previously, we often had to send our products to Guangzhou for testing, incurring travel and testing expenses that could total several thousand yuan per trip—adding up to over a hundred thousand yuan annually. Now, we can access quality testing services locally, which significantly enhances our ability to apply for permits and seize market opportunities.”
The testing center has reportedly invested over 20 million yuan and includes testing zones for food, cosmetics, and medical devices. It has been authorized to offer a total of 158 testing services for cosmetics and 339 for food products, completing 25 batches of product testing for ten companies. This has led to a reduction in testing cycles by an average of 50% and a cost decrease of 20%.
Additional strategies include reviewing government reports on the high-quality development of the biopharmaceutical industry, forming joint research teams with representatives and government agencies for on-site investigations, and organizing focus meetings to address key supervisory recommendations. Over recent years, the biopharmaceutical sector has become a key focus for the Xiangjiang County People’s Congress, influencing government strategies and policies for the industry.
“We will continue to harness the role of the People’s Congress in fostering the growth of our primary biopharmaceutical industry by encouraging relevant departments to meet their responsibilities, gathering insights from representatives, and actively providing strategic recommendations to further advance the industry’s development,” concluded Yang Wenzhi, Chairman of the Xiangjiang County People’s Congress.
