The State Council issued a plan on Oct 27 to promote the development of the rehabilitation and assistive products industry, aimed at meeting the growing demand of rehabilitation services in China and strengthening its competitiveness.

The cabinet made the goal that the output of the industry will surpass 700 billion yuan ($103.3 billion), a number of world-class Chinese brands and related industrial clusters will emerge and its share in high-end market will see a significant increase by 2020, according to the document.

The plan put forward four major tasks, concerning innovation capability, industry upgrade, effective market supply and a favorable market environment, to enhance industry development.

Enterprises, research institutions and universities are encouraged to integrate their resources, conducting relevant sci-tech innovation and basic technology research. Efforts are also needed to promote the online and offline trading of such innovative achievements and more policies are urged to nurture and absorb the best minds, according to the plan.

Some industrial parks, research centers and corporation headquarters will be constructed to optimize its industry layout and develop a rehabilitation and assistive products industry with high added value and low resource consumption.

Meanwhile, smart manufacturing technologies — such as industrial internet, cloud computing and big data — are expected to be applied to product research and design, production, business management, and sales and service, to upgrade the rehabilitation and assistive products industry.

Productive services, including financing, e-commerce, outsourcing and branding, should be strengthened to optimize the industry chain and accelerate efficient flow of industry elements, said the document.

Corporations in the industry are also encouraged to carry out international cooperation in trade, technology, and investment and production capability.

According to the plan, innovative products are expected to be developed for an effective market supply.

Products concerning assistance in the daily life, education and employment of the disabled, rehabilitation of disabled children and medical care of elders and the wounded are the priority.

Cutting-edge technologies, including artificial intelligence, VR and brain — computer interfaces, are encouraged to be used in the products.

In addition, rehabilitation and assistive devices that are integrated with traditional Chinese medical care are also encouraged.

The plan also called for a sound market environment through establishing an internationally recognized certification system for rehabilitation and assistive products. Efforts should also be made to improve the standard for rehabilitation products and impose punishments on fake products with poor quality, said the document.

It also called for favorable financial policies set for related enterprises, including tax benefits. And the government should support the bonds and securities or other financial derivatives issued by any eligible rehabilitation product enterprises.

Local governments are encouraged to incorporate therapeutic rehabilitation products in basic health care insurance in the near future. And rehabilitation related knowledge should be included in professional medical education to strengthen the personnel pool and training in the field.

In addition, a sound supervision, monitoring and analysis system should be established for the rehabilitation and assistive products industry, the circular added.