Top executives weigh in at CIIE (IV)

Julio Gay-Ger, president and general manager of Lilly China

A1: Lilly has participated in CIIE since 2019. It also signed a memorandum of understanding in 2020 committing to another three years' participation. In early 2020, the Lilly China management team decided to participate in the annual mega event since it offers great platform to foreign companies to showcase their products and services. The success of the first CIIE in 2018 showed the Chinese government's capabilities to organize such a big and resultful event.

A2: The world economy suffered a lot from the still ongoing pandemic. Despite the challenges and difficulties, China successfully held the third CIIE. The CIIE itself shows the world the vitality of the Chinese economy and helps boost the world economy through "dual circulation". We are confident of the Chinese economy in the long run.

A3: The Chinese economy is outstanding in terms of both vitality and resilience. As the second largest economy in the world, a healthy Chinese economy means a lot to the world. We are confident of the future of the Chinese economy, both in overall performance and that of the pharmaceutical industry. We are very proud to be part of it. This allows us to continue realizing our commitment to the China market and our patients.

A4: As part of the robust Chinese economy, China's healthcare market is also growing to become one of the largest in the world. More importantly, this market is still growing at a rapid speed. This happens because the government sticks to the commitment of reform and opening-up. We witnessed the emergence of many local innovative companies, which benefited from this. I believe some of them will one day shine on the global stage.

A5: Yes, we are confident in the Chinese economy. We have seen the Chinese government increase the impact and the momentum of reform and opening-up. In the pharmaceutical industry where Lilly is in, we see continued efforts of healthcare reform, for example, the accelerated drug review and approval process.

A6: China is a huge market with great potential. By opening up its markets to foreign investors and companies, it gives them great potential in developing their business. Meanwhile this also brings to China topnotch products and services which will again boost the development of a robust and vibrant economy.

A7: We are optimistic China will continue to reform and open up. As a pharmaceutical company, we look forward to more initiatives in encouraging pharmaceutical innovation, which will eventually benefit the Chinese patients, or even patients in other parts of the world.

A8: Like the CIIE in recent years, China has been working to offer greater support for free trade with a wide variety of countries and regions. We applaud the Chinese government's endeavors in building an open platform, and its contribution to world economy can be substantial.