by LI Kewen

AstraZeneca said on Thursday it plans to invest more than 100 biilion yuan (US$15 billion) in China by 2030, expanding its pharmaceutical manufacturing and research operations in the country.

The drugmaker said the investment will deepen its China-based research and development network, including global strategic R&D centres in Beijing and Shanghai that work with more than 500 clinical hospitals and have led numerous global clinical trials in the past three years.

AstraZeneca also plans to upgrade its manufacturing facilities in Wuxi, Taizhou, Qingdao and Beijing, and will announce plans for new production sites at a later stage. Its existing plants supply medicines to patients in China and more than 70 overseas markets.

The company said its China workforce will exceed 20,000 following the expansion, with the investment expected to create thousands of additional jobs across the healthcare sector.