Rooted in China for 100 years, Philips has grown with China

October 18, 2023, Shanghai, China - Today is the 100th anniversary of Royal Philips of the Netherlands, a global leader in health technology, entering China. This historical moment demonstrates Philips' mission of "improving human health and well-being through meaningful innovation" and its commitment and practice of being rooted in China.

On October 18, 1923, at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Shanghai, "Philips China Company" was established. This day has since been defined in the history of Philips as the starting point of taking root in China. Since then, Philips has improved the lives of the Chinese people through continuous innovation, starting from lighting, to focusing on innovative health technology in recent years, supporting the "Healthy China" strategy, providing tailor-made solutions for hospitals at all levels, and supporting Its clinical and scientific research needs, and empower consumers to better manage their health and live a healthy life.

After the founding of New China, in 1978, China began to take the steps of "reform and opening up". The more than 40 years of reform and opening up are also a history of the development of foreign investment. In 1979, the China Joint Venture Enterprise Law became the first law regarding foreign investment. In response to this policy, Philips established its first joint venture in Beijing in 1985, which officially kicked off Philips' "in China, for China" strategy of deeply cultivating China and developing comprehensively.

Mr. Jia Borui, Global CEO of Philips, said: "Philips has a deep relationship with China. With the joint efforts of more than 7,000 employees of Philips China, we are closely connected with the lives of the Chinese people through innovative products and have improved the lives of nearly 500 million Chinese people. , has become a well-known and loved brand in China, and has repeatedly won the "Best Employer" award, for which we are deeply proud. In the future, we will continue to uphold the long-term commitment of "in China, for China", as the government, A trustworthy partner for customers and the local ecosystem, we are deeply involved in the construction of 'Healthy China' and jointly create a more prosperous and sustainable future."

Today, China has become Philips' second largest market in the world. Philips has operations in more than 600 cities in China, with a wide business footprint covering all aspects of R&D, manufacturing, market access, sales, and services. It produces and sells products that are more in line with the needs of local Chinese customers and radiates around the world.

Philips currently has five comprehensive production bases in China, located in Shanghai, Suzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, and its products are sold to Chinese and overseas markets. In order to better serve the Chinese market, the company established three innovation centers in China in 2022, focusing on local innovation of systems, products and software. In addition, the world's first D2C offline experience center "Philips Healthy Life Lab" will also be unveiled in Shanghai Fengshengli in November 2022. At present, more than 90% of the company's products and solutions sold in China have been "Made in China", including some high-end medical equipment that represents the highest technical level and production process in the industry. In the consumer field, locally developed products have won awards such as the Red Dot Award and the IF Product Design Award, and are deeply loved by young consumers.

He Guowei, member of the Philips Global Executive Committee and President of Greater China, said: "2023 is a very meaningful year. This year is the 45th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, and it is also the 100th anniversary of Philips' arrival in China. This is a kind of fate and a kind of Commitment. Our goal is to become a 'localized' global company. We are upgrading our 'China strategy' to deploy R&D, manufacturing, market access, services and other functions in a way that is closer to local customers, and closely connected with the local ecosystem The cooperation aims to better serve the Chinese market with faster speed, more accurate perspective, and more optimized way."

At the "Sixth China International Import Expo" to be held on November 5 this year, Philips will use "Intelligence to Create China" as the theme to comprehensively display the company's main achievements in promoting the "China Strategy" in recent years, including consumer health and products and solutions for professional customers. Global innovation supports Chinese wisdom and conveys Philips' commitment and practice of serving the Chinese market.