An aerial view of Longhua. File photo

A 2-billion-yuan (US$281 million) investment fund targeting high-end medical devices has been established in Longhua, adding fresh financial backing to one of the district’s fastest-growing advanced manufacturing sectors.

The Shum Yip Guochuang Fund was announced at the opening of the 2026 Shenzhen International High-Performance Medical Device Exhibition and Innovative Medicine Exhibition. Jointly managed by Shum Yip Group and the National Innovation Center for Advanced Medical Devices, the fund will focus on core technologies, key segments of the high-end medical device industry and public service platforms.

It forms part of Shenzhen’s new high-end medical device industry fund, which has a total target size of 4 billion yuan. Shenzhen has been building a financing system spanning different stages of medical device development as part of its efforts to accelerate innovation and commercialization in the sector.

Longhua has emerged as one of Shenzhen’s major centers for medical device manufacturing. The district’s high-end medical device industry recorded output of about 27 billion yuan in 2025, with its industrial added value rising 20.8% year on year. It is home to companies including Mindray, Winner Medical and Lifotronic.

Ten innovative Class III medical devices developed in Longhua have received national approval, accounting for about a quarter of Shenzhen’s total, according to information provided by the district.

Longhua District also had a prominent presence at this year’s exhibition. It occupies the largest exhibition area, with a 480-square-meter display. The exhibition covers 30,000 square meters and has attracted more than 300 companies from China and overseas.

Longhua’s display highlighted an industry ecosystem extending beyond individual products. Six product zones featured technologies ranging from medical imaging and interventional devices to in-vitro diagnostics, surgical robots and rehabilitation equipment.

Among the products on display were Cornerstone Robotics’ Sentire laparoscopic surgical robot and an AI-powered smart health ring from Beimeikang.

The district also presented six public service platforms covering R&D, clinical trials, registration, pilot production, financing and market development, along with six specialized industrial parks offering more than 2 million square meters of space.

Nine public hospitals and 134 community health centers provide additional settings for clinical research and applications, according to the district.

An aerial view of the Shenzhen International Medical Device City under construction in Longhua. Chen Jianhua

Longhua has built a broader innovation network around the sector. It is home to the National Innovation Center for Advanced Medical Devices, the country’s only national-level innovation center dedicated to medical devices. The district has also supported the commercialization of major technologies including China’s first domestically developed ECMO system and a 5-tesla whole-body MRI system.

Meanwhile, Shenzhen International Medical Device City is taking shape in Guanhu Subdistrict. The project has a planned area of 20 square kilometers, with its first plot breaking ground in March. More than 70 hectares of contiguous industrial land is being made available to support further industry development.

Longhua is seeking to consolidate its strengths in interventional devices, high-end medical imaging and in-vitro diagnostics while expanding into emerging fields including brain-computer interfaces, surgical robots, AI-enabled medical devices and advanced radiotherapy.

The new fund adds another component to that ecosystem, providing capital for technologies and companies as they move from research and development toward commercialization and manufacturing.