Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)

Medical Services

Relevant Mainland Rules and Regulations

Rules and regulations promulgated by the Mainland authorities relating to the implementation of commitments under CEPA :

Medical Institutions

Hong Kong Service Suppliers (HKSS) may set up medical institutions in the Mainland in the form of wholly-owned entity, or in the form of equity or contractual joint venture with Mainland's medical institutions, companies, corporates or other economic organisations:
1. the establishment and development of medical institutions must be in conformity with the local healthcare plan and the plan for the setup of medical institutions;
2. apart from wholly-owned hospitals and wholly-owned sanatoriums, medical institutions established by HKSS shall be subject to the standards and requirements applicable to medical institutions established by Mainland entities and individuals. For details, please refer to the "Basic Standards for Medical Institutions (Provisional)" (Circular of the Ministry of Health No.30 - Sep 1994) (in Chinese only) or the "Basic Standards for Clinics" (Circular of the Ministry of Health No. 75 - Aug 2010) (in Chinese only) ;
3. an application shall be filed with the health administrative authority at the municipal level of the place where the institution is to be situated; documents such as feasibility study reports and site selection reports should be submitted according to the "Implementation Details of Administrative Provisions of Medical Institutions" (in Chinese only) as well.
HKSS who submitted an application for setting up wholly-owned hospitals shall be a legal person who can bear civil liability independently, and should have direct or indirect experience in medical and healthcare investment and management. They should be able to meet one of the following requirements as well:
1. capable of providing advanced managerial experience, management model and service model of medical institutions; or
2. capable of providing internationally leading medical technology.
The hospitals wholly-owned by HKSS in the Mainland shall meet the basic standards for hospitals of tier 2 or above. The total investment for tier 3 hospitals should not be less than RMB 50 million, while the total investment for tier 2 hospitals should not be less than RMB 20 million. For details, please refer to the "Interim Administrative Measures on Setting up Wholly-owned Hospitals by Hong Kong and Macao Service Suppliers in the Mainland" (Circular of the Ministry of Health No. 109 - Dec 2010) (in Chinese only). For setting up wholly-owned hospitals in Guangdong Province, please also refer to the "Application Guide for Setting up Wholly-owned Hospitals by Hong Kong and Macao Service Suppliers in the Mainland" (Circular of the Department of Health of Guangdong Province No. 386 - May 2011) (in Chinese only) announced by the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province.
Both parties applying for the establishment of a medical institution in the form of Sino-Foreign equity or contractual joint venture in the Mainland set up by HKSS shall be a legal person who can bear civil liability independently, and should have direct or indirect experience in medical and healthcare investment and management. They should be able to meet one of the following requirements as well:
1. capable of providing internationally advanced managerial experience, management model and service model of medical institutions;
2. capable of providing internationally leading medical technology and equipment; or
3. able to supplement or improve medical service capability, medical technology, funding and equipment of the jurisdiction.
HKSS who apply for opening solo clinics in the Mainland shall obtain the "Medical Practitioner's Qualification Certificate" of the Mainland (in clinical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine or dental medicine) and meet one of the following requirements:
1. having the legal right to practise medicine in Hong Kong, and having been practising medicine in Hong Kong for 5 years or more, or having been practising medicine in Hong Kong and Macao for 5 consecutive years or more; or
2. having been doing clinical work of the same specialty in the mainland for 5 consecutive years or more.
When HKSS establish a solo clinic, the specialty that they applied for must be in line with the scope that they have been practising in Hong Kong or the Mainland. Each HKSS can only operate 1 solo clinic in the Mainland; he shall wholly-own the clinic, and shall be the person-in-charge of the business. For details, please refer to the "Notification on Implementation of Supplement IV to CEPA between Mainland and Hong Kong/Macao in relation to Medical Service" (Circular of the Ministry of Health No. 303 - Dec 2007) (in Chinese only).
For HKSS filing an application for the establishment of a wholly-owned sanatorium, please also refer to the "Interim Administrative Measures on Setting up Wholly-owned Hospitals by Hong Kong and Macao Service Suppliers in the Mainland" (Circular of the Ministry of Health No. 109 - Dec 2010) (in Chinese only).
Designated healthcare institutions operating in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area are allowed to use Hong Kong-registered drugs with urgent clinical use, and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals with urgent clinical use, subject to the approval of Guangdong Province. For details, please refer to:
- "Work Plan for Regulatory Innovation and Development of Pharmaceutical and Medical Device in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area" (Circular of the National Medical Products Administration No. 159 - Sep 2020)(in Chinese only)
- "Guangdong Province - Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Interim Regulations on the Administration of Imported Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices for Urgent Clinical Needs in China" (Aug 2021) (in Chinese only).
For other details about setting up medical institutions, please refer to:

Healthcare Professionals

Short-Term Practice
- Statutory healthcare professionals (12 categories, including Medical Practitioners, Chinese Medical Practitioners, Dentists, Pharmacists, Nurses, Midwives, Medical Laboratory Technicians, Occupational Therapists, Optometrists, Radiographers, Physiotherapists and Chiropractors) who are registered to practise in Hong Kong may provide short-term services in the Mainland. The maximum duration of the short-term practice is three years. On expiry, new application procedures should be made for renewing the short-term practice. Hong Kong permanent residents who are legally eligible to practise western medicine, dentistry and Chinese medicine in Hong Kong are not required to sit the Mainland's qualification examination for the purpose of short-term practice in the Mainland.
- For details, please refer to:
Qualification Examinations for Medical Practitioners
- Eligible Hong Kong permanent residents may apply to sit the Mainland's Qualification Examinations for Medical Practitioners in clinical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine or dental medicine. A "Medical Practitioner's Qualification Certificate" of the Mainland will be issued to those who pass the examination. To sit the examination, one shall be:
  1. Clinical Medicine
    1. A Hong Kong permanent resident who has the legal right to practise medicine in Hong Kong; or
    2. A Hong Kong permanent resident who is in possession of a medicine (western medicine) degree or above from a full-time tertiary institution approved by the Education Administration Department of the Mainland State Council¹. He shall have completed a one-year internship in the Mainland and passed the assessment as well.
  2. Dentistry
    1. A Hong Kong permanent resident who has the legal right to practise medicine in Hong Kong; or
    2. A Hong Kong permanent resident who is in possession of a dental degree or above from a full-time tertiary institution approved by the Education Administration Department of the Mainland State Council¹. He shall have completed a one-year internship in the Mainland and passed the assessment as well.
  3. Traditional Chinese Medicine
    1. A Hong Kong permanent resident who has acquired a Chinese medicine degree from the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, or the Hong Kong Baptist University, and is legally eligible to practise in Hong Kong. He shall also have completed a one-year internship in a tier-3 hospital in the Mainland and passed the assessment, or have been practising in Hong Kong for more than one year; or
    2. A Hong Kong permanent resident who is in possession of a Chinese medicine degree or above from a full-time tertiary institution approved by the Education Administration Department of the Mainland State Council¹. He shall have completed a one-year internship in the Mainland and passed the assessment as well.
- For details, please refer to:
Accreditation
- A Hong Kong permanent resident with Chinese citizenship who meets all of the following criteria and the requirements of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Doctors" and the related regulations may apply for and obtain the Mainland's "Medical Practitioner's Qualification Certificate" through accreditation:
  1. Being a Hong Kong permanent resident who has obtained the legal right to practise medicine for 5 years on or before 31 December 2007;
  2. Having been issued the HKSAR Qualification Certificate of Specialists;
  3. Practising medicine in medical institutions of the HKSAR.
- For details, please refer to:
Licensed Pharmacist
- Those who meet one of the following criteria may apply to sit the Mainland's Licensed Pharmacists Qualification Examination:
  1. Having obtained college education in pharmacy, Chinese pharmacy, and worked in the position of pharmacy or Chinese pharmacy for 5 years.
  2. Having obtained an undergraduate degree in pharmacy, Chinese pharmacy, and worked in the position of pharmacy or Chinese pharmacy for 3 years.
  3. Having obtained a second undergraduate degree or a master degree, or being graduated from a postgraduate programme in pharmacy, Chinese pharmacy, and worked in the position of pharmacy or Chinese pharmacy for 1 year.
  4. Having obtained a doctoral degree in pharmacy, Chinese pharmacy.
  5. For personnel who has obtained education or degree in fields related to pharmacy, Chinese pharmacy, an additional 1 year is added to the requirement of working year in the position of pharmacy or Chinese pharmacy correspondingly.
- For details, please refer to:
  - "Regulation on the Professional Qualification System for Practising Pharmacists" (Circular of the National Medical Products Administration No. 12 - March 2019) (in Chinese only)
  - "Measures for the Administration of Registration of Practising Pharmacists " (Circular of the National Medical Products Administration No. 36 - June 2021) (in Chinese only)
Licensed Veterinarians
- Hong Kong and Macao residents who meet the following requirements may apply to sit the National Qualification Examination for Licensed Veterinarians:
  1. Having obtained a degree or above from a university approved by the Education Administration Department of the Mainland State Council;
  2. Syllabus of the programme studied conforms with the requirements of the "Administrative Measures for Practising Veterinarian".
- For details, please refer to:
  - "Administrative Measures for Practising Veterinarian" (Order of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China No. 5) (2013 Revision) (Jan 2014) (in Chinese only)
  - "Regulations on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Residents to Take the National Practising Veterinarian Qualification Examination and Administration on Practising" (Circular of the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China No. 2539) (June 2017) (in Chinese only)

For other details, please refer to :

Enquiries concerning the application procedures and requirements for the establishment of foreign-invested hospitals or clinics can be directed to :

The National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China
( Website: http://www.nhc.gov.cn)
The National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People's Republic of China
( Website: http://www.natcm.gov.cn/)

¹ According to Article 15 of the "Notification on Implementation of the 'Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement' Concerning Medical and Dental Services", Clinical Medicine (Western Medicine), Dental Medicine (Dentistry) and Traditional Chinese Medicine degree or above in the Mainland refers to the Clinical Medicine (Western Medicine), Dental Medicine (Dentistry) and Traditional Chinese Medicine degree or above provided by full-time tertiary institutions in the Mainland which are approved by the Education Administration Department of the Mainland State Council; medical institutions accepting Hong Kong and Macao permanent residents for the internship and training of the National Qualification Examinations for Medical Practitioners refer to the tier 3 hospitals (or Chinese medicine hospitals) which the aforementioned schools (or Chinese medicine schools) are affiliated to. They are known as tier 3 hospitals or tier 3 Chinese medicine hospitals for short.

Main Content

Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA)

Medical Services

Relevant Mainland Rules and Regulations

Medical Institutions

Healthcare Professionals