China Profile

This 10-year-old rural Chinese boy visits a nutrition fair at Shanghai Children's Medical Center with his grandmother. They received nutrition counseling. The fair is sponsored by Project HOPE with support from the Abbott Fund.

Team members at our Shanghai Research & Development Center are making significant progress on a number of important fronts – progress that's important to China and to Abbott's growing presence there.

An Abbott representative visiting a Chinese supermarket speaks with a young mother about proper usage of infant nutrition products.

The People's Republic of China has one-fifth of the global population and is perhaps the fastest-growing economy in history. China is also important to Abbott's future business plans and to our evolving obligations as a global citizen.

Abbott's strategic presence in China has grown sharply over the past 14 years. We employ 1,500 people there, the vast majority of them Chinese citizens. They are engaged in manufacturing, marketing and distributing a wide range of Abbott health products – everything from pediatric nutrition and pharmaceutical products to medical devices, many of them specially tailored to local needs.

Advancing Research

We have invested in local research and development facilities. We recently completed renovation of a Research Center in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park near Shanghai. Located in China's largest hub of pharmaceutical and biotech activity, our team there will conduct biological research on early-stage pharmaceutical compounds and partner strategically with top Chinese organizations and local academic centers to advance new drug discovery programs. In late 2008, we also opened a nutrition product dry blend and package facility in Guangzhou.

We are committed to delivering quality and safety and to making all our products accessible for both urban and rural areas throughout China.

Our commitment to China goes well beyond making and distributing our products there. We are equally engaged in transferring our knowledge and experience to the nation's health care professionals and in using our resources to help create a better quality of life. Abbott is committed to delivering quality and safety and to making all our products accessible for both urban and rural areas throughout China.

Abbott works with China's government, its health authorities and leading NGOs to train and educate the nation's health care providers and the populace in general. We believe the work we do with Chinese doctors, nutritionists, local product sales advisors and other health care intermediaries will make a lasting difference, as we help enlarge their understanding of best practices and key health issues.

In 2008, the global reputation of the Chinese dairy industry suffered a major blow from the discovery that many products were contaminated by melamine. Although none of Abbott's products was affected, we wanted to be part of the solution. Abbott and the Abbott Fund in partnership with the Chinese government and the not-for-profit organization Project HOPE responded quickly to the melamine crisis. Abbott nutrition scientists and their Chinese counterparts came together to share the latest advancements in the area of nutrient testing and analysis. Through a partnership with the Shanghai Children's Medical Center and Project HOPE, we established a 24-hour hotline for concerned parents and expanded the hospital's ability to screen more patients. In addition, an information pamphlet was created by Abbott and distributed by the Ministry of Health in an effort to help the Chinese public better understand the issue.

Affordability and Accessibility

In a nation of 1.25 billion people, creating broader access to health care products and services poses a significant challenge, one that we approach with the same values and commitment to quality that we apply in every other region.

We provide a full range of Abbott products at prices that the Chinese public can afford. Affordability and accessibility of health care products remain key issues in China, as they do in other developing nations, and we are working hard to address these issues. For example, Premilac is a nutrition product for infants, which meets high standards for quality, while selling at affordable prices.

Working with Suppliers

Abbott sources many materials locally in China, as we do elsewhere, while ensuring that Chinese suppliers meet high standards for quality and sustainability. We do this in two ways – first, through education and, second, by auditing our suppliers. We audit to ensure not only quality, but also our suppliers' pursuit of corporate social responsibility goals. We have learned from our suppliers there, and they have learned from us.

Our presence in China and our desire to be good citizens globally entails a responsibility to reach out to victims of epidemics and natural disasters.

Environmental Protection

With China's rapid industrialization come concerns about protecting its environment. Abbott's environmental commitments are the same in China as in the rest of the world. We are determined to improve the environment, health and safety performance of our manufacturing operations. Local sites are exploring energy-efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Employees at our site in Shanghai undertook an innovative project to equip the exterior facility lighting with hybrid wind/solar energy cells to demonstrate this commitment. Abbott is also committed to reducing water usage there and is working to improve access to high-quality water in every community where we do business.

Earthquake Relief

Our presence in China, our relationship with local NGOs and our critical health care products, such as rehydration fluids and antibiotics, allow us to reach out to victims of epidemics and natural disasters in the country. In May 2008, for example, a terrible earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province. Abbott and the Abbott Fund teamed up with many of our humanitarian aid partners to provide more than $1 million in disaster relief. We donated critical pharmaceutical and nutrition products during the crisis and also funded the work of Project HOPE and other agencies there. In addition, Abbott employees in China teamed up with the Shanghai Charity Foundation to rebuild a kindergarten in Dujiangyan.