Siheyuan: The prosperous era starting from being a doctor

Chapter 487 Capital-Free Trading and Patented Technology

past life.

The information Wang Mengde obtained.

Since the 1980s, Japan has used patented technology, capital tactics, raw material monopolies, government support policies, and cultural means to form a comprehensive monopoly on Chinese herbal medicines.

This has seriously damaged the interests of China's traditional Chinese medicine industry.

Every year, the majority of the profits from Chinese herbal medicine in overseas markets are seized by Japan.

For various reasons, China did not pay attention to this problem until the early 21st century.

Unfortunately, it was too late by then; Japan had already monopolized the market in every aspect.

China not only failed to profit much from traditional Chinese medicine, but also lost some profits to Japan from valuable medicinal materials.

Originally, the raw materials for traditional Chinese medicine were heavily reliant on imports from China.

Through a series of capital operations, Japan acquired a large number of Chinese medicine companies in the 1980s and 1990s, monopolizing the supply of raw materials.

At the same time, a "cherry-picking" model is implemented, which involves purchasing high-value medicinal materials at high prices, processing them, and then reselling them back to China at high prices, squeezing the survival space of domestic Chinese herbal medicine companies.

Then, by applying for patents, they blatantly smear traditional Chinese medicine and promote so-called "Hanfang" (traditional Chinese medicine formulas).

By subtly manipulating the market, they aim to erode international confidence in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and bribe media outlets to amplify its promotional message.

Through a series of means, the reputation that originally belonged to Chinese traditional medicine was stolen by Japan.

And all of this began with the large-scale acquisition of precious and rare Chinese herbal medicines.

and so.

Wang Mengde naturally opposed the cooperation plan with the Mitsui family of Japan.

Now that he has come to this era and is engaged in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, he will certainly not repeat the mistakes of the past, and he will also promote and develop traditional Chinese medicine, with most of the profits going to China.

therefore.

Wang Mengde then offered his suggestion.

Leaders in higher-level departments may only take other people's opinions as a reference, and they will not significantly affect their own judgment.

However, his suggestion had to be taken seriously.

After all, this young man is a leader in the medical field, and the health and family planning system owes most of its current status to him.

Judging from past examples, every suggestion Wang Mengde made was the most suitable for China at that time.

Therefore, even the top leaders of the health and family planning departments are seriously considering this issue.

As for the leaders of other subordinate units of the health and family planning departments who were invited to join the discussion, they sat there obediently, not daring to express any further opinions.

A minute later, one of the leaders from the health and family planning department spoke up and asked:
"Comrade Wang Mengde, we will carefully consider the issues you just raised."

Oh, and one last thing, could you elaborate on why you said it wasn't good value for money?

He was one of the leaders who had previously agreed to cooperate with the Mitsui family.

Of course, he had no selfish motives; he was simply hoping to earn several hundred million dollars more in foreign exchange each year.

It's just that they lacked vision and failed to see the sinister intentions of the Mitsui family.

"Boss, it's like this: if we export a large amount of precious medicinal herbs to Japan, we might only earn three hundred million US dollars."

However, precious medicinal materials are inherently very rare, and under normal circumstances, their yield cannot be increased through artificial cultivation or other means.

Once these are sold, there might not be enough for domestic use.

"Furthermore, if we process these precious medicinal materials into finished traditional Chinese medicine products, the cost itself may only be one dollar."

However, the selling price to the public must be at least ten dollars or even more than one hundred dollars.

For example, the price of "Rejuvenation Pill" has now risen to more than 20,000 US dollars per pill overseas, but you leaders should all know about its cost.

After being processed into traditional Chinese medicine, the profit margin is much higher than selling the raw materials; it's at least double the profit.

Wang Mengde gave a brief overview of the situation.

Actually, there's one more thing he didn't mention.

That is, in the original history, Japan purchased a large amount of precious Chinese herbal medicines from China, then processed them again and sold them back to China.

The price he sold it back was several times higher than the price he bought it for.

One in and one out.

They made several times their initial investment using only simple processing of raw materials from China.

It's practically a risk-free business, incredibly profitable.

"So that's how it is, Comrade Wang Mengde, now that you put it that way, I understand."

Indeed, our country has so many renowned traditional Chinese medicine practitioners who develop a large number of effective and secret prescriptions every year.

As long as there is a medicine, it doesn't have to be a "rejuvenating pill," just something comparable to a "royal pill" or a "divine pill of eight treasures" would be enough.

It brings in a large amount of foreign exchange for the country every year, and it's a continuous source of income.

After Wang Mengde finished speaking, the leader smiled and said...

Thinking about it carefully, that makes sense.

China's foreign exchange earnings from pharmaceutical exports, or other medical-related transactions, exceeded two billion US dollars last year.

These exports are not raw materials, but all traditional Chinese medicine products.

The cost is less than one percent; the profit margin is astonishing.

Moreover, this does not include smuggling with the northern neighbor, or profits from bartering with the United States.

If all of them are included, it should have reached more than $2.5 billion last year.

More than half an hour later.

The meeting is over.

Although no specific conclusion has been reached yet, based on the content of the final meeting, it is highly likely that cooperation with the Mitsui family will not be carried out.

We left the conference room.

Wang Mengde did not go back immediately, but followed several leaders from the health and family planning department to the small meeting room.

He plans to bring forward some of his plans.

The original plan was to wait until after the reform and opening up before putting forward some suggestions.

But who knew that Japan would start implementing the plan so early?

Therefore, he had to be on guard.

"Comrade Wang Mengde, the reason I invited you here today is not only to discuss the cooperation with the Mitsui family, but also to have a chat with you."

What will become of China's healthcare industry in the next decade? How should it develop, and in which areas should it focus its efforts?

We'd love to hear your opinion on all of this. You're a leading figure in our country's medical field, and your advice is extremely important.

After I sat down, the senior leader of the higher-level department spoke with a kind expression.

Since the early 1950s, when the country decided to vigorously develop medicine, the leaders of the health and family planning departments at that time set out a ten-year development plan.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of that event.

It's time to make the third ten-year plan.

The top leader was parachuted into the health and family planning department last year. Although he has completely taken control of the department and has a deep understanding of its work, he is still very much in control.

However, he still felt overwhelmed when it came to long-term planning. Therefore, he took this opportunity to consult Wang Mengde for his opinion.

"Leader, I believe that gene technology research is a very important project and should be maintained as a priority."

The remaining issue is the protection of intellectual property rights. This intellectual property rights are not implemented domestically, but internationally, especially in developed countries, where patents must be registered.

The main purpose is to obtain patent certification for publicly available ancient prescriptions, well-known proven prescriptions, secret prescriptions, and Chinese herbal medicines in China.

For those formulas that haven't been made public, and for newly developed secret formulas, we will keep them confidential.

"At the same time, we will provide some assistance in terms of equipment, funds and materials for the development of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine."

Especially in the last two years, many new drugs have been launched from both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine, and these have been exported overseas, earning the country a large amount of foreign exchange.

"Regarding the quality of medical and nursing staff, we can conduct standardized assessments to make up for the problems that were previously overlooked in order to solve the issue of whether or not they exist."

"By making medical staff younger, more professional, and more standardized, we can better serve the people."

Wang Mengde immediately offered a few simple suggestions.

When the country first made the plan, he hadn't even started working yet.

The second time, he was just beginning to shine and got involved.

However, due to his youth and the fact that his qualifications were not much higher than those of other famous TCM doctors, only some of his suggestions were adopted.

Now, his position is extremely important, and his every word and action is carefully considered by the leaders.

"Comrade Wang Mengde, the research on gene technology will certainly not be relaxed; it is a long-term project."

The suggestion to support both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine is excellent. I've discussed it with several department leaders and we're preparing to apply to higher authorities to purchase equipment from abroad, or exchange 'Rejuvenation Pills' with the United States for advanced equipment.

“Developing talent, bringing in fresh blood, and conducting assessments are all tasks that need to be implemented in the next decade.”

"These suggestions are all very good, but what you just said is to apply for patents for the prescriptions that China has already made public, and even for traditional Chinese medicine."

Is this necessary? After all, our country abolished patents long ago, and these prescriptions themselves belong to China, which is a globally recognized fact.

The higher-level leaders accepted most of the suggestions made by Wang Mengde.

However, there are still many doubts about applying for patents abroad.

He couldn't understand how these things belonging to China could be stolen by others.

In fact, people of this era basically wouldn't think of that.

In the future, there will be a few shameless countries that will take pride in stealing the culture and knowledge of other countries.

"Leader, the Mitsui family from Japan came to China this time, wanting to cooperate with China in the pharmaceutical field, but they actually have ulterior motives."

I suspect their goal is to monopolize China's precious traditional Chinese medicine and then profit from it.

If we refuse them, they'll definitely come up with other crooked ideas, one of which is applying for a patent.

"After all, patent protection is still the mainstream practice in Western countries."

They don't care which country the knowledge belongs to, they only care who applies first.

Therefore, in order to protect the interests of China, I suggest that the government allocate some funds to apply for patents through special channels.

Wang Mengde briefly explained what happened in later generations.

time does not wait.

In the original history.

Japan and South Korea began their shameless behavior in the 1980s.

But with Wang Mengde acting as a "butterfly," the other party might carry it out ahead of time.

Wang Mengde originally planned to use the money he had taken from a certain country's treasury after the reform and opening up as funds for registering patents.

But now he feels he can't wait any longer.

In any case, China earns a considerable amount of foreign exchange every year, so withdrawing a small amount will not have a significant impact on the country.

Moreover.

If all else fails, he suggests that the country release another batch of "Rejuvenation Pills," since the valuable raw materials are provided by those foreigners.

China only adds some inexpensive Chinese herbal medicines, as well as labor and equipment costs.

It's like the wool comes from the pig, but the cow pays the bill.

"Yes, the problem you mentioned is indeed one we must guard against."

Currently, China exports a large amount of medicines to Western countries, and the foreign exchange earnings it earns each year account for an increasingly larger proportion of its overall foreign exchange earnings.

It has even become a major force, and both other departments and higher-ups hope to export more medicines.

"Applying for a patent can be helpful, and no one will object to spending some foreign exchange."

So, tomorrow, I'll take the relevant materials and report to my superiors to see what they think.

Once the leadership agrees, we'll immediately apply for patents for the publicly available ancient and proven remedies through our connections in Hong Kong.

The senior leader of the higher-level department has a decisive personality.

He thought for a moment and then made a decision.

As a senior leader of a department, he considered things from a longer-term perspective than others.

Currently, China's main exports are pharmaceuticals.

If Japan were to apply for the patent in advance, and exports were subsequently blocked, the impact on the country's fiscal revenue and industrial development would be enormous.

Therefore, it is advisable to plan ahead.

Just in case, spending a little more money is fine.

Just as Wang Mengde said, earning back the foreign exchange that has been spent is too easy for China now.

By simply releasing a few thousand more 'Rejuvenation Pills,' one can generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

That money is enough to apply for many patents.

The funds needed for future patent maintenance can also be obtained through the same process.

As for whether releasing so many more drugs will have an impact on this particular drug.

There's really no need to worry.

The powerful and wealthy in many countries often urge their respective countries to use diplomatic relations to try to get China to release more of its "rejuvenating pills".

As for prices, they won't even blink an eye if prices continue to rise.

Compared to life, money is utterly insignificant.

Wang Mengde was not discouraged when his superiors said they needed to report to higher authorities before making a decision.

Because he understood that the leaders above, with their foresight, would certainly agree.

At that time, we will use Hong Kong as a place to apply for patents for all the ancient prescriptions and proven formulas of traditional Chinese medicine that have been made public in China.

To stop theft by Japan and South Korea.

Moreover, with him around, the development of traditional Chinese medicine will only become more and more powerful in the future.

Besides newly developed drugs, many ancient prescriptions can actually be made into traditional Chinese medicines, which may open up markets abroad.

Then, in a snowball effect, traditional Chinese medicine will spread to the world.

(End of this chapter)