China commerce minister meets pharma executives amid push for foreign investment

BEIJING, March 22 (Reuters) - China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with the head of a leading U.S. pharmaceutical trade group and executives from five major multinational drug companies on Sunday to discuss the business environment for foreign pharmaceutical firms in China.

China has been pushing to reverse its declining foreign direct investment and in December expanded the list of sectors eligible for incentives such as tax breaks and preferential land use.

• Wang held talks with Stephen Ubl, President and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), along with leaders from Novartis NOVN.S, AstraZeneca AZN.L, Roche Group, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Organon OGN.N, according to a commerce ministry statement.

• Wang said multinational pharmaceutical companies have established China as a global R&D base and noted that China's 15th Five-Year Plan lists biopharmaceuticals as an emerging pillar industry.

• The minister said China will strengthen intellectual property protection and improve policy transparency, providing new opportunities for multinational pharmaceutical companies to expand in China.

• The two sides exchanged views on the development of foreign-invested pharmaceutical enterprises in China and issues of concern to the companies.