June Xu

Last month, preferential procurement of low-priced medical products under China’s volume-based procurement (VBP) system reignited public debate over the right balance between quality and affordability in the healthcare system. This procurement was prominent during the country’s 10th round of VBP for drugs and 5th round for high-value medical consumables in December.

Since our last update, the United States and China have continued engaging in dialogue over IP protection to address business concerns, including the vice-ministerial meeting during the second Commercial Issue Working Group in Tianjin last September. Several critical issues impacting American rights holders—such as patent term extensions, regulatory data protection, and trade secret protection—were discussed during both high-level and technical exchanges.

China has seen several high-level personnel changes at the central and provincial levels in recent months. A partner of USCBC, Wang Jiangping (王江平), stepped down as vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) last month upon reaching retirement age.

China saw several senior personnel changes at the central and provincial levels ahead of the Third Plenum, which took place this week and is scheduled to wrap up today.

Over the past few months, US Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal made a visit to China, China’s IP authorities announced a series of work plans on enhancing IP protection through administrative measures, and judicial authorities released a number of “typical cases” to set referable rulings and guidelines for future judicial proceedings.