AstraZeneca CEO Soriot on Pharmaceuticals in China

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot discusses the drugmaker’s business strategy in China, the US “BIOSECURE Act,” and future deals and partnerships in China. He speaks with Stephen Engle on the sidelines of the BOAO forum.

[ebebil]

While establishing manufacturing operations in China was traditionally seen as a key strategy for gaining access to the Chinese market, the landscape has shifted significantly. In the past, China's competitive advantage was heavily based on its low labor costs. However, in the post-COVID era, this cost advantage has largely eroded due to rising wages, increasing operational costs, and changing global supply chain dynamics.

[TechnikMeister]

For a global company to put a lot of its eggs into China manufacturing capacity is a strategic threat and must be abated. Smart western companies are exiting China, either back to home markets or to countries which have a more reliable political, regulatory and judicial systems. As technology advances, the need for labour diminishes. So China's historical advantage in cost of labour is evaporating and its being hastened by the rise in real wages being demanded by its workers. Its the middle class that stays in the cities. The manual workers are going back to the countryside.