China's recent development raises hopes for global economic stabilization; Switzerland welcomes Chinese tourists: Swiss ambassador (GT)
2023-02-01

Switzerland eyes vocational education cooperation with China (GT)
2023-02-01

Novartis Eyes Market Potential Outside Biggest Chinese Cities (Caixin)
2023-01-31
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG is looking to the vast Chinese market outside the biggest cities like Beijing and Shanghai to drive future business growth in the world’s most populous country, said Marie-France Tschudin, president of Innovative Medicines International and chief commercial officer of Novartis. “We started really focusing on our county strategy, going to tier two and tier three cities,” Tschudin told Caixin during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. The strategic shift is partly driven by the pandemic, which underscored the unmet health-care needs in many smaller Chinese cities as people had to travel to big cities for treatment, according to Tschudin. As China emerges from the pandemic, the development of health-care infrastructure in small and medium-sized cities will become even more important to ensure that people can be treated close to where they live. Novartis will continue investing in smaller Chinese cities and expects the market outside the biggest cities to become its new growth driver, Tschudin said. Tschudin became head of Novartis’ Innovative Medicines International unit and CCO in April 2022, when the company launched a major business reshuffle to focus on the high-value innovative medicines business. Previously, Tschudin served as president of Novartis’ pharmaceuticals business unit since 2019. China’s huge population and its emerging need and desire for better health services means strong potential for business, Tschudin said. The country’s improving health-care infrastructure and increasingly pro-innovation regulatory framework will also benefit pharmaceutical multinationals. “We’re going to capitalize on that,” Tschudin said. As one of the first global pharmaceutical giants to enter the China market, Novartis has had more than 30 of its innovative drugs covered by China's national medical insurance program since 2017. At the beginning of this year, Novartis went through negotiations with Chinese authorities to bring 14 additional medicines into the program, according to Tschudin. Entering the insurance program secures stable market demand for the drugs, but it also greatly reduces profit margins due to hefty discounts. Tschudin said the program allows Novartis to bring its innovative drugs into China in a timelier fashion. She also said she expects Chinese authorities to further simplify the procedure to make it faster. To bring more of its innovative therapies into the China market, Novartis has taken part in pilot programs launched in Boao, Hainan province, and the Greater Bay Area which allow advanced innovative drugs and medical instruments to be used in designated health-care facilities before they win national approval. According to Tschudin, Novartis has brought six innovative drugs to the pilot program in Boao and five to the Greater Bay Area. Such programs allow drugmakers to collect valuable real-life evidence and more importantly offer a gateway for them to bring the new therapies to the China market, Tschudin said. Novartis is currently treating 1,500 patients in the Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Boao with its new cholesterol-lowering product, which has been submitted to authorities for review and is expected to win approval to officially launch in China this year, Tschudin said. Novartis is also looking for alliances with China’s domestic biotech firms in five key areas including solid tumors, hematology, neurology, immunology and cardiovascular, according to Tschudin. The partnerships will focus on either boosting Novartis’ sales network in China or on joint research and development of new drugs. Tschudin said she is planning a trip to China in February after three years of pandemic disruption. She said she plans to meet with local teams and catch up with business partners. One task on her agenda is to push forward the launch of Novartis’ new intravenous radioligand therapy Pluvicto. The drug was approved in the U.S. in March 2022 to treat adults with prostate cancer. “There's a huge volume and need in China that I think we can't forgo,” she said.

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Japan talks: China’s Qin Gang urges open tech ties, Taiwan caution in meeting with country’s top diplomat (SCMP)
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Chinese FM urges Türkiye to take China's concerns on Xinjiang-related issues seriously (Xinhua)
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Beijing urges US to ‘end obsession with containing China’ ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit (SCMP)
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China urges Saudi Arabia to help speed up efforts for Gulf free-trade zone (SCMP)
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Every reason for China to take reciprocal measures - FM comments on discriminatory move by S.Korea (GT)
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Xi Jinping expected to visit Russia, defying impression of split over war (SCMP)
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Xi Jinping says China must quicken pace of tech self-reliance to prevent being ‘strangled by foreign countries’ (SCMP)
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China’s migrant workers return earlier to manufacturing hubs after holiday, but find fewer openings and less pay (SCMP)
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Top meeting urges expedited establishment of new pattern of development (GT)
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China reveals tailless concept for next-generation fighter jet (GT)
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Free flow of labour ‘vital’ to China’s poorer regions amid population decline (SCMP)
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A new Omicron variant CH.1.1 detected in over 60 countries only of limited threat to China (GT)
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China to expand rural access to urban welfare benefits in push for growth (SCMP)
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Beijing Legoland to help China’s capital spur economy as construction set to begin this year (SCMP)
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Beijing releases specific rules on COVID-related experiments to enhance lab biosafety (GT)
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Shanghai continues high-tech march (China Daily)
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Shanghai to provide relief package for enterprises (China Daily)
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Guangdong’s future rests on top-quality growth, party chief says (SCMP)
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Textile, garment park lures industries to Guangdong (China Daily)
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Guizhou emerging as big data juggernaut (China Daily)
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SW China's Sichuan ends restrictions on marital status for birth registration (GT)
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Tibet promotes travel during winter season (China Daily)
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Drone-based IoT helps monitor ecosystem of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (Xinhua)
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Importance of education promoted in Xinjiang (China Daily)
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Xinjiang plans to invest over 80 bln yuan in road construction (Xinhua)
2023-01-30

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Coronavirus: all borders between mainland China, Hong Kong to reopen from Monday, travel tours to resume (SCMP)
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Hong Kong falls to 88th in int’l democracy index as think tank cites civil service exodus (HKFP)
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Coronavirus: Hong Kong leader John Lee dismisses calls for independent probe into government handling of pandemic (SCMP)
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Exodus of Covid-19 patients from isolation centres as Hong Kong ends compulsory isolation (SCMP)
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Macao's broad money supply continues to grow in December (Xinhua)
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Visitor arrivals in Macao surge threefold in Spring Festival (Xinhua)
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Macao's unemployment rate drops to 3.5 pct in October-December (Xinhua)
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Talent-strapped Taiwan seeks 20,000 ‘special’ professionals, 200,000 overseas students amid talent push (SMCP)
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PLA ramps up drills around Taiwan amid McCarthy's island visit hype (GT)
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Czech president-elect risks Beijing’s anger with Taiwan phone call (SCMP)
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Passengers enjoy resumed ferries to Kinmen, Matsu (China Daily)
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Investors beware as Beijing tightens grip on China’s tech platform behemoths at the expense of profits, BCA Research warns (SCMP)
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China’s ‘disappearing market confidence’ presents major test for the Communist Party (SCMP)
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China's rosy prospects in economy boost global growth confidence (Xinhua)
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China's manufacturing, services sectors back in expansion territory in January, after December reopening (GT)
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China urged to ensure ‘predictable’ policies as regional economic engines unveil pro-investment measures to kick-start growth (SCMP)
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Housing market picks up during Spring Festival holidays as home inspections increase (GT)
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China’s debt-based interest payments top a trillion yuan for first time, raising concerns about financial risks (SCMP)
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North Korea says US drills threaten to turn peninsula into a ‘huge war arsenal’ (SCMP/Reuters)
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North Korea threatens ‘undesirable result’ after arms dealing with Russia evidence from US (SCMP/AFP)
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Decisions Made at the Cabinet Meeting (Montsame)
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L.Oyun-Erdene: Sanctions imposed on Russia impact negatively on Mongolia's economy (Gogo Mongolia)
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Mongolia to establish agency for investment, trade to attract foreign investment (Xinhua)
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Mongolian Judge Nominated for the Election of International Criminal Court (Montsame)
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B. Battsetseg: Mongolia Will Preserve the Momentum of Its Foreign Policies and Actions (Montsame)
2023-01-31

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Embassy of Switzerland