Recently, at the China Medical Equipment Conference and the 27th Annual Symposium on Academic and Technological Exchange held in Suzhou, Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, stated that the Ministry is working closely with relevant departments to vigorously promote the development of AI-powered medical equipment.

　　Xin Guobin pointed out that the integration of advanced technologies with artificial intelligence will establish a strategic high ground for the future development of the healthcare sector, serving as a crucial direction for medical-device companies to drive innovation and reshape their value chains. Currently, under the combined influence of market dynamics and policy support, the medical-device industry is accelerating its transformation toward digitalization, precision, and intelligentization, with an increasing array of cutting-edge medical products deeply integrated with AI—such as electronic health-record systems, telemedicine platforms, high-end medical-imaging equipment, and surgical robots. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is working closely with relevant departments to strengthen top-level design, build a comprehensive policy framework, continuously consolidate the foundations for industrial development, guide enterprises in speeding up R&D on new products, and promote the application of AI technologies in the medical-device field. At the same time, efforts are being made to actively establish collaborative platforms that facilitate closer alignment between supply and demand; last year, for instance, 21 hospitals—including Beijing Jishuitan Hospital—joined forces with related enterprises to establish an Orthopedic Surgical Robot Application Center, exploring the development of technical standards and clinical-application guidelines. In addition, initiatives to foster coordination between central and local authorities and to advance military–civilian integration are gaining momentum, laying the groundwork for an emerging pattern of seamless integration between industry and end-users.

　　Xin Guobin also pointed out that China’s overall level of artificial intelligence technology still lags significantly behind that of developed countries. AI technology has the potential to serve as a strategic breakthrough for driving the future development of medical equipment; therefore, it is essential to strengthen innovation, expand applications, establish standards, and cultivate talent—measures that will help enterprises transition from merely keeping pace with global leaders to running alongside them and ultimately taking the lead.

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