- Province links AI, data and capital to accelerate healthcare innovation
- Clinical adoption of brain-computer interfaces gains early traction
Zhejiang Province is aiming to build a 500 billion yuan ($73 billion) biopharmaceutical industry by 2030, with brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies earmarked as a key frontier for clinical and commercial breakthroughs, according to a draft policy released by provincial authorities.
The proposal, issued by the Zhejiang Department of Economy and Information Technology on April 10, outlines plans to integrate AI, biomedical data and advanced therapeutics, while fostering new applications in medical treatment, rehabilitation and health interventions.
A central focus is the development of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), particularly in neurorehabilitation. The policy calls for leveraging national AI pilot platforms to accelerate clinical deployment.
Early groundwork is already underway: a provincial hospital has established a dedicated clinical research ward for BCI and neuromodulation, where non-invasive systems are being used to enable stroke patients to perform “mind-controlled” rehabilitation training.
Momentum is also building on the standards front. In February, China released its first expert consensus on the clinical application of non-invasive BCIs in neurological rehabilitation, providing a framework to guide broader adoption of the technology.
Beyond applications, Zhejiang is targeting structural upgrades across the industry. By 2028, it aims to cultivate a cohort of companies with core technological capabilities and attract high-end talent, while achieving breakthroughs in key enabling technologies.
By 2030, R&D spending by major biopharma firms with annual main-business revenue of 20 million yuan and more is expected to reach around 7% of revenue, alongside the overall industry scale target.
Financial backing will be expanded through government-guided funds, social security-backed innovation capital and M&A-focused vehicles to support consolidation and scaling by leading firms.
The policy also encourages corporate venture capital and greater access to multi-layered capital markets, including IPOs and bond issuance.
Data infrastructure forms another pillar of the plan. Zhejiang intends to build a provincial biomedical data repository and establish a dedicated biopharma exchange segment within its data trading platform, exploring the commercialization of data assets.
By the end of the decade, the province aims to develop 50 high-quality corpora and domain-specific datasets to underpin AI-driven drug discovery and precision medicine.
