This is a fascinating article. In new molecular entities count (i.e. drugs entering clinical research pipeline) China has already surpassed EU and is rapidly catching up to US. All the major western pharma companies are licensing drugs from china and expanding their operations there. The primary reason: back in 2015, China reformed clinical trial regulations and most notably really streamlined phase 1 clinical trial regulations.

Interesting. I'm skeptical of the existence of beneficial drugs. I always thought it was a dumb cope when Americans are like "yeah China might control the means of production but our pharma industry is bigger. It's like having a bigger entertainment industry; it does not at all substitute for hard military-grade production. But I suppose that doesn't stop China from getting to the top of that field as well, and taking the spoils from having primacy in ability to invent, manufacture, and sell these apparently desirable chemicals.