Following in the footsteps of Baidu, Tencent and Huawei, two more technology giants in China recently entered the medical equipment industry, Guangzhou Daily reported on March 28.

Last week, Tencent signed an agreement on strategic cooperation with Philips (China) Investment Co., Ltd. to collaborate in the research and development of intelligent medical devices.

Later, on March 25, the company reached a consensus with Novartis, a multi-national pharmaceutical company, aimed at integrating a social networking platform for the convenience of people with chronic diseases.

Huawei Device Co. Ltd. added medical devices into its business scope on March 21, according to Tianyancha, an enterprise data platform.

Meanwhile, Baidu Online Network Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd last year invested in Neusoft, a high-end medical equipment manufacturer headquartered in Shenyang in northeast China.

China now has the second largest medical equipment market in the world. China’s medical equipment market was worth $75.9 billion in 2017, accounting for 18.8 percent of the global total, according to a newly released research report.

By 2020, China plans to better serve its people with traditional Chinese medicine, especially throughout grassroots-level hospitals, and medical rehabilitation, according to the plan to deepen the reform of medical and healthcare systems.

An insider said that tech giants would probably promote the upgrading of China’s medical equipment industry as they set foot in this sector with both capital and technology.

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