Chinese Pharma is On the Cusp of Going Global

China's pharmaceutical industry has quietly evolved from a hub for generics and clinical trials into something more ambitious -- a genuine competitor in drug discovery that Western giants are now courting to fill gaps left by looming patent expirations worth over $300 billion by 2030. In the first half of 2025, nearly a third of global licensing agreements signed by big pharma involved Chinese firms, Economist reports, four times the share from 2021. Pfizer agreed in May to pay $1.25 billion to