Doctor's Notes #3: CHP Updates & the Best of Substack
What I've been writing, reading and listening to in July.
Hello CHP readers,
We’re now deep into summer, which marks just over four months since I launched this newsletter. The China Health Pulse community has grown to span readers across an incredible 58 countries and 36 US states, and this week we hit number 38 in the “Rising in News” section on Substack. Many small celebrations to be had!
Thank you all for your continued support. It’s deeply appreciated - and as always, please do keep getting in touch, I love hearing from you.
You may also notice that some older posts are now marked 🔒. These are the pieces most often cited by policy teams, investors and global health analysts, and they reflect topics we at LINTRIS Health analyse in-depth for our clients. I’ve moved them to subscriber-only as part of building a more durable knowledge library, if you find them useful, please do consider upgrading your subscription to keep accessing all content.
In the meantime, here’s a curated selection of recent reads, listens, and links - including some authored by yours truly, as well as an exciting announcement at the end.
Articles and Reports
📰 China Rewrites Global Health Leadership as US Retreats From WHO – Ruby Wang, Nikkei Asia, 15 July 2025
Last month, I covered China’s health diplomacy at the 78th World Health Assembly here at CHP. In this Op-Ed for Nikkei Asia, I expanded my analysis to make the case for China distinctive global health strategy, and how it isn’t simply filling a vacuum left by the US. I unpack how Beijing uses bilateral aid, digital tools and selective multilateralism to advance a health model that appeals to many low- and middle-income countries, especially those wary of traditional Western donors.
📰 Ask the Experts: China and the Future of Global Aid - Ruby Wang & Felix Brender, IDEAS, London School of Economics, 18th June 2025
After writing about China and USAID here, I was invited by the London School of Economics to share my perspective on China’s evolving role in global aid. Felix and I explore how China is rewriting the rules, not by copying Western aid models, but through sovereign, infrastructure-led engagement, including tactical presence in crisis zones. Digital tools, bilateral deals and Global South alignment combine to form a new development logic that many developing countries are now actively choosing.
📰 Lab Leader, Market Ascender – China’s Rise in Biotechnology - Antonia Hmaidi, Jacob Gunter & Rebecca Arcesati, MERICS (Mercator Institute for China Studies), 24 April 2025
This is a sharp, policy-grounded report on China’s biotech ambitions from the excellent MERICS which walks the line well between grounded facts and strategic framing. Core thesis: China has become a biotech R&D heavyweight, but its global market share still lags, especially in late-stage drugs and regulatory trust. The tone skews EU-centric (resilience > innovation), but very much worth reading for its breakdown of geopolitical friction and data governance, particularly for industry watchers and EU policymakers. Great graphics, too. Do go back and read my China biotech mythbuster post, as a grounding reference.
📰 Mapping Noteworthy Startups in China’s Healthcare Sector - Aya Lin, TechinAsia, 21 June 2025
I was invited to contribute to TechinAsia’s landscape map of China’s healthcare start-ups. This provides a pretty comprehensive and well-structured overview of the major names in the ecosystem at the moment, including most noteworthy Chinese health start-ups, Chinese capital raised, list of most active investors in the past 24 months and latest funding rounds. Of course, it’s always a rapidly evolving landscape, so don’t expect to see the same names this time next year!
📰 Seeking the next DeepSeek: What China’s generative AI registration data can tell us about China’s AI competitiveness - Kendra Schaefer, 29 April 2025
This is an absolutely standout analysis of China’s public registry of 3,739 generative AI tools (as of end April, so the numbers are sure to have accelerated even more by now, in July). It provides a comprehensive overview of the the genAI state of play in China right now. We are able to get this rare open window into its massive massive ecosystem, thanks to China’s tight grip on online platforms. I’m especially interested in what this means for health, whether that’s public-facing AI services, clinical copilots or regulatory transparency.
On substack
A great post from Dr
, who draws from a leadership career that spans decades across the WHO and Canada’s Grand Challenges, to make thoughtful recommendations on the role of philanthropy in a rapidly shifting global health landscape:
This piece by Jacopo’s Newsletter shares some key insights regarding China’s impact on the global biotech landscape:
And then to take it further back, a really fantastic primer on biotech landscape as a whole from Adu Subramanian: “This is for the biotech curious who don’t know where to start. Healthcare is an industry supposedly reserved for specialists: MDs and PhDs with years of training doing in depth research. Most investors avoid it like the plague with an “anywhere but healthcare” mandate. But the biotech bug catches a few of us”:
Two more, older goodies on healthtech, from Pharma Leaders and
on healthcare innovation, all of which are relevant for the China landscape today. For reference, I wrote a comprehensive overview of AI x Health in China last month: wrote a great summary of the recent Alibaba viral news, where an employee posted a resignation letter online. It’s a fascinating story. I wrote about Alibaba’s health strategy during my visit to HQ in May, and will be sharing part 2 of that post in due course:
Podcasts
🎧 The World Health Assembly, Adolescent Health, and the Pace of Innovation - The Lancet Voice Podcast, 5 June 2025
The Lancet podcast team reflect on developments at the 78th World Health Assembly which they jokingly described as “a funeral for global health”, including the passage of the pandemic agreement and shifting dynamics in global health leadership. I referenced this podcast in my recent post about China’s central role at the World Health Assembly.
🎧 Malaria Free China, an Academic Medicine Revolution, and Retracted Data's impact - Medicine and science from The BMJ Podcast 7 May 2025
This BMJ podcast covers how China eliminated malaria by 2021 through persistent local action - a groundbreaking feat, and what new tools might help other countries to do the same.
🎧 The China Health Pulse Podcast
Speaking of podcasts, I’d like to hype up some excitement by saying…
Watch this space!
And finally, a CHP round-up
Here are some recent highlight posts you may have missed:
