First day at the CMEF Show in Shenzhen

Wild Taxi Ride: I survived the taxi ride to the exposition center this morning. With almost 20 million people moving around this metropolis, at least 10 of them decided they needed the space we were in more than we did. Fortunately the driver had no problem defending the route and we arrived without loss of blood.

 

It is estimated that China will become the second largest medical equipment market in the world, surpassing Japan. By the end of 2010, the Chinese medical equipment industry will account for 5% of the global market share and this number is expected to rise to 25% by 2050. The encouraging atmosphere at CMEF reflects the rapid growth and development of the Chinese medical industry and the confidence in this market.

The CMEF exposition is sited in 8 large pavilions, with only a modest attempt at coherent organization. Attendance is above early predictions with many booths crowded and isles packed. We could see many animated business discussions, with optimism clearly in the air.

As I walked through the area with many ultrasound OEMs, I lost track of the number of Chinese makers we had never heard of before. The big players are here. Siemens, GE, Philips, Toshiba, Mindray, Teknova and Landwind who all have many models on display. For example, Mindray has at least 7 different ultrasound systems on display. All the large makers are hosting live scans.

New names include Xuzhou, Zoncare, Yoshine, Emperor, and Haiying. Terason machines are being represented by about five new Chinese distributors. Missing names include Carewell, WellD, and Sino-Hero.