'Dual circulation' to boost growth (III)

A1: China is now our No 2 market worldwide and growing rapidly. It is very important for AstraZeneca and has some important unmet health needs in key disease areas like respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, oncology, gastrointestinal and renal, which also represent the main therapy areas for AstraZeneca.

In 2019, our China operations achieved sales of nearly $4.9 billion, and as of Q3 2020 received a revenue of $4.013 billion, taking more than 20 percent of the total revenue at AstraZeneca globally.

China also breeds "fertile soil" for R&D in new drugs. The Global R&D (China) of AstraZeneca, located in Shanghai, was officially inaugurated in 2019. In the future, its focus will be expanded from carrying out China's confirmatory studies to carrying out R&D at an earlier stage.

A2: Under the new development model of the "dual circulation", AstraZeneca will continue to invest in China and further realize our China commitment through the launch of multiple regional headquarters, not only contributing to the local economy, but also promoting the application and incubation of healthcare innovation. AstraZeneca is committed to empowering further integration of the entire healthcare industrial chain, activating regional innovation capabilities, and supporting the long-term stable development of the Chinese economy.

A3: China has emphasized ensuring stability in foreign investment. This will have a direct positive impact on foreign companies like AstraZeneca doing business in China. Especially during a period of such global uncertainty as brought by the pandemic, this government policy has reinforced our confidence in increasing our investment in China. The policy will also facilitate further cooperation between us and our local partners in China.

A4: China's successful stories of lifting people out of poverty and improving the society's overall economic development have inspired many, especially us, a foreign company rooted China for over 20 years. We have witnessed the continuous and steady growth of China's economic development under its people-oriented economic development model. The pandemic has not impeded China's determination and continuous efforts to promote the common development of the world through its own economic development.

A5: We believe that the policies carried out to fit in the "new development stage" will not only meet China's own development needs but also benefit the people worldwide. This "new development stage" will boost interaction and mutual promotion between domestic and foreign markets, better leveraging China's economic resilience and its role as a growth engine.

We will continue to promote our China strategy and seize the opportunities in the Chinese market. We hope to serve as a bridge that connects the global healthcare industry with China, leading the industry toward a more connected and win-win future.

A6: Our next step is to bring Chinese innovations to our global markets and benefit patients worldwide. We will not only accelerate our local R&D capabilities in China and introduce more locally developed innovative drugs to the world, but also replicate the innovative healthcare solutions we incubated in China to other parts of the world. By embracing open innovation and cross-sector partnership, we hope to strengthen China's leading role in the global healthcare industry.

The Chinese economy has shown strong resilience and has played a leading role in the global fight against the economic uncertainty brought by the pandemic. Moreover, to unblock the global industrial chain and boost world economic growth, China also introduced a series of new measures to further improve the business environment and to strengthen international trade, investment and financial openness. With the long-lasting impact of the pandemic, we believe that the stable and sound development of China's economy is a strong support to the world economy, and China's leading role in the world economy will be further highlighted.

A7: The 14th Five-Year Plan calls for the comprehensive construction of a "Healthy China", which aims to provide the public with comprehensive healthcare services and to improve the public healthcare system in the primary market. AstraZeneca will continue to explore holistic disease management solutions that cover disease education, screening, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and rehabilitation. We will continue to incubate healthcare innovations that contribute to the efficient allocation of quality healthcare resources, helping China to improve its hierarchical healthcare system.