At 4:00 p.m. on February 16, Riyadh time, Deputy Commissioner Xu Jinghe of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) was elected the Chair of the 27th Global Harmonization Working Party (GHWP), which is of great significance in the process of China’s internationalization of medical device regulation.
The GHWP, formerly known as the Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP), is an international platform for medical device regulatory and technological exchanges involving the participation of regulators and industry representatives, and officially changed its name to the GHWP in 2022. With its growing number of members and increasing international influence, the membership of the GHWP has expanded from Asia to the Middle East, North and South Americas as well as Africa, covering 33 countries and regions with a total population accounting for more than half of the global population. Nearly 80% of the members are in the Belt and Road Initiative.
The 26th Annual Meeting and Technical Committee Meeting of the GHWP were held from February 13 to 16 in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, covering open forums on regulatory reliance, digital therapeutics, innovative medical devices and regulatory capacity building, the GHWP Technical Committee Meeting and the GHWP Annual Meeting. Experts from GHWP member countries and regions, the GHWP Technical Committee and related working groups and the capacity building program and representatives from international harmonization organizations such as IMDRF, ASEAN and APEC shared the latest developments of global medical device regulatory work. One of the main tasks of this GHWP Annual Meeting was to elect the new GHWP leadership. According to the Terms of Reference and House Rules of the GHWP, Deputy Commissioner Xu Jinghe of the NMPA was elected the new Chair of the GHWP by the vote of the representatives.
Xu’s election as the new Chair of the GHWP demonstrates that China’s well-organized medical device regulatory system and effective regulatory work are widely and highly recognized by the international community. In his acceptance speech, Xu said that over the years, every step of the GHWP’s action has written its own history of rapid growth, and its work has been fruitful and influential; this annual meeting adopted the 2026 strategic framework and set out the development goals of the GHWP from 2023 to 2026; working together with other members of the GHWP, he will devote himself to the harmonization of global medical device regulatory rules and the common improvement of regulatory capacity among members.
Xu also said that during his term as Chair, he will prioritize the following six aspects of work. First, he will focus on cutting-edge technology and promote the harmonization and unification of regulatory rules. Second, he will promote the research on regulation sciences and bring innovative products to the market at an early date. Third, he will strengthen laws and regulations training and improve the regulatory capacity and standards of member countries and regions. Fourth, he will push forward regulatory reliance and accelerate the realization of regulatory mutual recognition among member countries and regions. Fifth, he will advance the application of technical guidance and the sustainability of regulatory capacity. Sixth, he will bolster industrial cooperation and facilitate trade among member countries and regions.
Source: National Medical Productions Administration