CHONGQING, March 15 -- China's medical equipment market size reached 1.35 trillion yuan (about 188.2 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, according to a medical equipment conference that opened in southwestern Chongqing Municipality on Saturday.

The promising market is still expanding. In 2024, major enterprises in the medical equipment sector saw their revenue exceed 540 billion yuan, maintaining rapid growth for nearly a decade, according to Xin Guobin, vice minister of industry and information technology.

In China, major industrial enterprises refer to those having an annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan or more.

Experts are also upbeat about the industry development around the world. Qiao Jie, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said it is estimated that the compound growth rate of the global medical equipment market size will reach 5.7 percent from 2024 to 2030.

Xin called for efforts to strengthen industrial innovation, promote the integration of medical equipment with artificial intelligence technology, and increase the appeal of Chinese products in overseas markets.