Trade competitiveness analysis of the Chinese medical device industry

Competitive advantage in international trade is indicated by a country's ability to gain benefits from foreign trade. These benefits can be achieved by expanding export volumes or improving trade structure and core competitiveness based on excellent quality and high-technology content. This paper analyses the trade competitiveness of the Chinese medical device industry by using the trade competitiveness (TC) index, revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index, competitive advantage (CA) index, and Grubel and Lloyd (GL) index. The different trade indices provide a measure of the competitive status of the Chinese medical device industry and its evolving trends. The results from this study imply that the competitiveness of Chinese medical devices has gradually weakened from 2007 to 2019. In detail: medical dressings, health protection and recovery products have a competitive advantage in the global market; whilst medical disposable products, dental equipment and materials have no obvious competitive advantage; medical diagnosis and treatment devices do not have a competitive advantage. Positive measures are being taken by the Chinese government to ameliorate the current deterioration in the competitiveness of Chinese medical devices.