CASC deal will boost cooperation in healthcare

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), China's major space contractor, is making further inroads into deepening internal corporate reforms and civil-military integration, especially in the healthcare sector.

On Monday, CASC inked a deal with China Chengtong Holdings Group, a State-owned asset-operating group, aiming at combining CASC's technical resources with the latter's financial expertise, to contribute to the nation's health care and endowment industry.

Specifically, a special fund for medical technology development was established. The fund will be applied to promote the application of space technologies － such as high-value medical facilities, as well as remote medical services － in the healthcare sector.

Furthermore, the two conglomerates plan to set up a trinity healthcare model on hospital asset management, performance management and fundraising management, further complementing each other's advantages.

"Currently, China has entered an aging society. As the percentage of the senior population is rising quickly, building an elder-friendly society is an urgent need," said Lei Fanpei, chairman of CASC.

"CASC, as a representative of China's State-owned enterprises (SOEs), will take a lead in promoting the operational efficiency of state-owned capital to be used in building a 'healthy China' with a better medical system," he said.

According to a report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2016, China's healthcare expenditure had taken up 6.2 percent of the nation's GDP, which was still left behind by the average level of the world's developed countries, which was 9 percent. Besides, the nation's supply-demand gap in the medical industry is still obvious.

"With the Healthy China 2030 initiative launched and SOEs' separation process of the auxiliary body from the main body moving forward, the healthcare sector in China is bound to have a prosperous future," said Ma Zhengwu, chairman of China Chengtong.

For many years, CASC has been boosting civil-military integration, combining space technologies with healthcare industry being a prototype. At present, it is offering its advanced aviation support to the country's hospitals, including big data management and 3D printing instruments, as well as digital imaging film for medical purposes.

According to Lei and Ma, apart from the healthcare sector, in the coming years, the two companies will have further cooperation in many sectors, such as deepening SOE reforms, expanding SOEs' overseas markets, and promoting intelligent logistics, boosting the development of civil-military integration.