The China Pharmaceutical Industry Development Conference 2026 opened in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, on September 15, marking the event's debut in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Centering on five key areas — cultivating new quality productive forces, advancing original innovation in drugs and medical devices, upholding tradition while driving innovation in traditional Chinese medicine, harnessing AI for digital and intelligent empowerment and expanding the global footprint — the conference brings together academicians and experts, industry leaders, representatives of innovative enterprises, and other stakeholders from policy and capital circles to explore new pathways for upgrading China's pharmaceutical industry.

The conference will also host a series of special events, including a compliance management training session and closed-door symposium for the vaccine industry, a symposium on the high-quality development of the pharmaceutical industry, and a special session on co-building an ecosystem for the digital and intelligent upgrade of medical devices, together with a matchmaking event for medical device production and sales. Participants will also make field visits along three routes in Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Shenzhen, touring key industrial parks, enterprises and research institutes.

Zhongshan's biopharmaceutical industry now reports a gross industrial output value approaching 40 billion yuan. The city is home to more than 650 related enterprises, and has built an industrial cluster led by biologics, chemical drugs, medical devices and traditional Chinese medicine, with future sectors such as cell and gene therapy, radiopharmaceuticals, brain science and synthetic biology growing rapidly.