The Xinhua news agency reports that China now ranks first in the world in terms of annual production of penicillin, vitamin C, terramycin, doxycycline hydrochloride and cephalosporin antibiotics.

China turns out around 28,000 tons of penicillin a year, accounting for 60 per cent of the world's total. Meanwhile, it makes 98,000 tons of vitamin C, of which 54,000 tons are sold abroad, or more than 50 per cent of the world total. The annual production of terramycin now stands at 10,000 tons (65 per cent of the total), while it is ranked first in manufacturing of doxycycline hydrochloride and cephalosporins.

China is also a major exporter of pharmaceutical chemicals in the world. Last year, it sold $3.7 billion (€3.0bn) of these products overseas.

But while it is making progress, China's pharmaceutical sector is still affected by scattered distribution of production, low standards of research and development, low added value of products and an insufficient number of new product ranges, according to Cui Bing, secretary-general of the China Import-Export Chamber of Medicine and Health-care Products.

He told the CPhI China meeting last month that there are now more than 6,700 pharmaceutical enterprises operating in China, and 5,200 of them are smaller plants. Only about 15 per cent of the total have obtained certificates of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).