Nearly 300 Million Middle-Aged and Elderly Population... Ministry of Industry and KOTRA Target New Bio-Medical Markets

Participation in the 'China (Changchun) International Medical and Health Industry Expo'

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA announced on the 9th that they operated a Korean pavilion at the "China (Changchun) International Medical and Health Industry Expo" held in Changchun, China.

Co-hosted by the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Shenyang and the KOTRA Changchun Trade Center, the event featured 16 companies including ▲Osstem Implant (dental equipment) ▲Dasan Pharmaceutical (hypertension and hyperlipidemia combination drugs) ▲Ceragem (medical devices) ▲Korea Ginseng Corporation (health functional foods). The purpose was to expand local market entry in sectors experiencing rapidly increasing demand due to China's aging population.

As part of the Changchun city government's active promotion policy for the silver industry, the exhibition covered approximately 50,000㎡, with over 600 participants including hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and enterprises from China and abroad. They showcased medical devices, active pharmaceutical ingredients, pharmaceutical equipment, smart medical products, and health functional foods, continuing consultations on-site.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA participated in the "China (Changchun) International Medical Health Industry Expo," held for three days from December 7 in Changchun, China, by organizing the Korean national pavilion. Scene from the venue on the opening day. Photo by KOTRA

China is a major export market for Korean medical devices. Last year, among Korea's top 10 medical device export countries, China accounted for 12% of exports, ranking second after the United States at 17%. Export value also increased from about $580 million in 2019 to approximately $650 million last year, maintaining a positive trend.

According to Chinese government statistics, the population aged 60 and over reached 290 million last year, increasing by about 10 million annually, accounting for 21.1% of the total population. Due to rapid aging, the size of the elderly care industry, a representative silver industry, grew by 16.5% year-on-year to about $1.7 trillion last year. With the Chinese State Council's announcement of policies to foster the silver economy in January this year, the related market is expected to reach about $3 trillion by 2027. Additionally, increased awareness of wellness is expected to drive steady growth in fields such as dental care, rehabilitation medical devices, anti-aging cosmetic procedures, and health management, making these promising blue oceans for domestic companies to enter.

The dental medical field is expected to grow by more than 15% annually since 2020 due to increased incidence and demand for medical services among elderly patients, reaching approximately $38.3 billion by 2025. Chinese-made rehabilitation medical devices mainly focus on the low- to mid-price market, so import demand for functional physical therapy rehabilitation medical devices is steadily increasing. In the anti-aging cosmetic procedure sector, demand is expanding for hyaluronic acid fillers and Botox for whitening, skin regeneration, and wrinkle improvement. Popularity and demand for health functional foods aimed at boosting immunity and disease prevention are also expected to continue.

Hwang Jae-won, head of KOTRA's China Regional Headquarters, said, "We must pay attention to the rapidly growing bio-medical industry driven by China's aging population as a new momentum for expanding exports to China." He added, "We will focus on supporting domestic companies to secure a competitive edge and pioneer new markets in fields such as advanced dental and rehabilitation medical devices, cosmetics, and health functional foods."