The trend of medical tourism has changed! Coming to China for medical treatment has become a new option as the industry prepares for Southeast Asia
"STAR Market Daily" reported on January 29 (Reporter Xu Hong) Recently, many foreign bloggers have shared their experiences of medical treatment in China on social media, which has aroused public discussion on the phenomenon of "foreigners coming to China for medical treatment" and also opened up the imagination space for the development of China's international medical tourism.
In the past, most of the classic itineraries for foreign friends visiting China were “checking in at the Forbidden City, strolling along the Bund, and tasting special delicacies.” But now this kind of "sightseeing tour" has begun to change, and more and more people have included "medical treatment" in their itineraries to China, which has given rise to a new wave of "medical tourism".
Cross-border medical care is actually nothing new. Data shows that approximately 15 million to 20 million patients around the world cross national borders every year in search of better and more cost-effective medical services. They fly from the United States to Mexico and India, from Indonesia to Malaysia and Singapore... They have formed a huge international medical network.
In Asia, countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and even India are key hubs in this network. As mature international medical destinations, they attract a large number of patients to seek medical treatment across borders every year.
"Malaysia, for example, received more than 1.3 million medical tourists in 2024; South Korea received more than 1.1 million foreign patients in 2024, the highest level in history. This number is almost double that of 2023, covering multiple treatment fields such as medical beauty, heart, nerves, and tumors." Cai Qiang, founder of Shengnuo, told a reporter from the STAR Market Daily.
In contrast, China is far from opening up, and the number of foreign patients who come to China specifically for medical treatment is still limited. According to Cai Qiang’s prediction, there may not be more than 10,000 people in 2025. However, China's medical tourism market undoubtedly has huge potential, and there are already signs of accelerated development.
It is precisely because of this realization that the Saint Lucia Consulting decisively opened up a new front. As one of the earliest professional service organizations in China that focuses on helping seriously ill patients seek medical treatment overseas, Saint Lucia Consulting established a new team at the end of last year after conducting "overseas" medical business for nearly 15 years to provide services for international patients seeking medical treatment in China. In just a few months, they have provided matching services for patients from Indonesia, Türkiye and other places.
The trend of cross-border medical care has finally begun to turn.
▌“Coming to China for medical treatment” has become a new trend
The real experiences of seeing a doctor in China have been splashed across overseas social platforms one after another.
British TikTok blogger Amy has recurring stomach pains, but her family doctor has been unable to diagnose her. Unable to bear the pain, she tried to make an appointment with a specialist but was told she would have to wait at least three months. In desperation, she remembered her short stay in China and decided to fly to China for treatment.
At the end of November 2025, Amy arrived in Beijing and quickly made an appointment with a doctor. In just 13 days, she completed the entire process of comprehensive examination, clear diagnosis and precise treatment. What surprised her even more was that she only spent more than 2,800 yuan on this medical treatment at her own expense. Amy recorded the entire experience on TikTok, which immediately sparked heated discussions.
Amy is not alone. Prior to this, another British blogger also posted a video saying that his stepfather was unable to stand due to health problems and had been unable to be diagnosed in the UK. He had to wait 26 weeks for an MRI and 8 weeks for an X-ray. In the end, he brought his stepfather to China for medical treatment. Not only was he diagnosed quickly, but he also received a complete treatment plan. The video also went viral overseas.
Cai Jiangnan, founder and executive chairman of Shanghai Chuangqi Health Development Research Institute, told a reporter from the STAR Market Daily that these cases show that China’s medical industry does have its own advantages in efficiency, price and technology. Not only is the cost of seeing a doctor in China lower, but it is also faster for patients to call a specialist, undergo examinations, and arrange surgery. Especially in the field of surgery, Chinese doctors have rich clinical experience and are more technically proficient due to the large volume of operations.
With the relaxation of visa policies, the number of foreigners seeking medical treatment in China has increased in the past two years. Gong Yanchun, director of the International Medical Department of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, provided a set of data to reporters: In 2025, the number of outpatient visits to the International Medical Department of Ruijin Hospital will be approximately 150,000, an increase of approximately 7% compared to 2024. During the same period, the number of outpatient foreign patients will increase by approximately 15% year-on-year.
She mentioned that another trend that is particularly noteworthy is that the number of foreign patients coming for treatment of difficult and complicated diseases is significantly increasing.
"In the past, many foreigners or overseas Chinese came by plane, maybe just for physical examinations. But now more and more foreigners come here specifically to treat severe or difficult diseases. Some are recommended by foreign doctors, and some search for information online, ask AI, and finally find us. This shows that what they really value is our increasingly mature medical technology and hospital specialty capabilities." Gong Yanchun told a reporter from the STAR Market Daily.
More than half of the departments in Shanghai Ruijin Hospital are national key clinical specialties, among which hematology, endocrinology and metabolism, cardiovascular disease, and neurology are all key disciplines of the Ministry of Education. The hospital is also one of the first hospitals in China to carry out CAR-T treatment. Its international medical department has a professional CAR-T treatment team and has become one of the only two major CAR-T treatment centers in the world.
At the end of 2025, after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, South African kayaking world champion Oscar Chalupski traveled to many countries to seek medical treatment. Finally, through the recommendations of AI tools such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT, he chose to go to Shanghai Ruijin Hospital for treatment. It is understood that Oscar's treatment is now being progressed in an orderly manner, and because of his good treatment experience, he took the initiative to recommend two New Zealand patients to come to Ruijin Hospital for treatment.
Zhang Lei, director of the International Diagnosis and Treatment Department of Shanghai Children's Medical Center, also shared a transnational medical case with reporters. A Polish child unfortunately suffered from hepatoblastoma. His father originally wanted to receive treatment in Europe, but he faced two major problems: first, the long queue time for diagnosis and treatment, and second, the high cost. A single course of treatment is expected to cost about 300,000 euros.
The parent reviewed the literature and found that a director of oncology surgery at the hospital had published relevant papers, showing that he had the largest number of treatment cases for the same disease in the world and the highest success rate. So, parents decided to come here because of its reputation. The International Diagnosis and Treatment Department of Shanghai Children's Medical Center assists with communication throughout the entire process and helps with visa procedures, so that the children can come to China smoothly.
"After admission, the entire process from interventional treatment, surgical resection to formulating a chemotherapy plan was completed within a month, and the total cost was less than a quarter of the cost of treatment in Europe." Zhang Lei told reporters.
Lucas, an American born and raised in the United States, told a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board that in the United States, it is very common for people to choose to go to other countries for medical treatment. For example, many people will go to Cuba to receive surgery or dental treatment because the waiting time will be shorter and the cost will be lower.
Nowadays, China has begun to become a new choice for transnational medical care. He is not surprised at all, and emphasized that ordinary Americans' impression of China's technology has long been refreshed. "Many people believe that Chinese technology is already very advanced in many fields, such as electric vehicles. People often post BYD electric cars on social media, praising its good technology and low price." He said.
Lucas also noticed that patients who choose to go to China for treatment generally show high satisfaction. He believes that the sharing of these patients and the positive reputation accumulated from real experiences will attract more and more people to consider coming to China for medical treatment.
▌China’s share of global medical tourism
Cai Qiang defined medical tourism in one sentence: "I took this trip just to see a doctor in another country." Therefore, this is not only a redistribution of transnational medical resources, but also a real activation of the tourism and consumer markets.
Data shows that the global medical tourism market value has reached US$24.14 billion in 2023, and is expected to exceed US$130 billion by 2032. The compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2032 is expected to be as high as 21.4%.
So why are people willing to travel to other countries for medical treatment? In this regard, Cai Qiang pointed out two core reasons: First, extremely high-net-worth customers in developing countries choose to seek medical treatment in developed countries in order to pursue more advanced medical technologies. For example, the United States leads the world in many specialized fields and attracts high-net-worth patients from around the world. Countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Singapore have become the backbone of the “second echelon” with their high cancer cure rates (some exceeding 60%).
The second type of need is the search for lower-cost treatment options. A typical example is that every year, a large number of low- and middle-income people in the United States choose to go to countries with higher cost-effectiveness because they cannot afford the higher medical expenses in the United States. For example, India has attracted a large number of low- and middle-income international patients from developed countries because the cost of heart bypass surgery is far lower than international levels. At the same time, with its "mandatory generic drug" policy, it can provide the latest drugs at extremely low prices.
International medical tourism not only has a long history in Asia, but its development is also continuing to deepen. Every year, a large number of patients in Indonesia choose to go abroad for medical treatment because of concerns about the domestic medical level and credit system. Neighboring Malaysia has become one of their preferred destinations due to its good services, close distance, and cultural and religious similarities.
Thailand has elevated medical tourism to a national strategy, launched "SHA security certification" and medical visas, and aims to become a "world medical center" by 2030.
Japan is a “new star” in recent years. "About eight or nine years ago, Japan began to vigorously develop medical tourism. With its advanced technology, sophisticated equipment, meticulous services and good medical experience, it successfully attracted many Asian patients and became prosperous," Cai Qiang told reporters.
China started relatively late in this field, but is already actively catching up, with Shanghai being particularly promising by the industry. Cai Qiang believes that Shanghai has the potential to become an important stop for medical tourism in Asia with its rich medical resources and high-level medical technology.
In September 2023, Shanghai launched a pilot project for international medical tourism in high-level public hospitals. The first batch of 13 hospitals, including Shanghai Ruijin Hospital and Shanghai Children's Medical Center, were identified to participate in the pilot. According to the reporter of "STAR Market Daily", this pilot plan will further expand its scope, which indicates that Shanghai has taken more solid steps on the road of promoting the development of international medical tourism.
Gong Yanchun told reporters that after the launch of the pilot, the international medical services in various hospitals have become more standardized, and the medical environment has also been significantly improved. Take Shanghai Ruijin Hospital as an example. Its international medical department has an independent examination area. Patients can complete the entire medical treatment process from outpatient service, physical examination to hospitalization without leaving the building, which greatly improves the patient's medical experience.
In Cai Qiang's view, Shanghai's conditions for developing international medical tourism are basically mature, with hardware, technology and policy foundations in place, but there is still room for improvement in terms of "software", especially as brand awareness is not enough. "The aroma of wine is also afraid of the depth of the alley," he described the current challenges.
He also believes that it is reasonable for the pilot to start from public hospitals, because public hospitals represent the country's top medical technology, cutting-edge treatment methods and the best expert teams.
"We must use the best public hospitals to compete with the top medical institutions in Malaysia and Singapore. If we only rely on private hospitals to attract foreign patients, it will be very difficult. Therefore, public hospitals must be the main force, and private hospitals are currently more supplementary." Cai Qiang analyzed.
He further explained the division of labor between the two: public hospitals should focus on core medical fields such as severe and difficult diseases, "taking down the core and most complex parts", while more diversified and more common services such as general physical examinations, traditional Chinese medicine conditioning, and medical cosmetology can be left to private hospitals. "This can not only form a reasonable collaboration, but also avoid crowding out basic medical service resources."
Zhang Lei took Shanghai Children's Medical Center as an example and shared the hospital's practical experience with reporters. He emphasized that in the future, in addition to continuing to strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration capabilities, hospitals must also pay special attention to improving cross-cultural service capabilities, such as paying attention to the details of patients with different cultural backgrounds in terms of living habits, religious beliefs, dietary needs, etc., and standardizing and streamlining these service links to provide international patients with a more considerate and professional medical experience.
The future of medical tourism in China is undoubtedly bright. Cai Qiang predicts that its market size is expected to expand from the current 10,000 people to one million people. Therefore, the Saint Lucia Consulting is ready to roll up its sleeves and work hard. This year, it plans to open additional offices in Indonesia, Vietnam and other places and actively carry out market promotion.
But he also clearly pointed out that this road must be tortuous, and he was particularly worried about possible irregularities in the industry, which would affect the reputation of the entire "Chinese Medical" brand. In this regard, he very much agrees with Shanghai's current pace of gradually advancing pilot projects and proceeding steadily, believing that this is the key to stable and long-term development.
"I believe that by this time next year, we will definitely have gained something." He said with great expectation.