China’s healthcare spending is expected to triple the expenditure of 2000 and reach $600bn by 2015, creating new opportunities in diagnostics, medical devices and healthcare information technology, a new report has found.

The report by Scientia Advisors found that China’s $1.18bn in vitro diagnostics market will see significant growth due to hospital adoption of advanced technologies

A rise in infectious diseases such as HIV, HBV and HPV, and in hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA will drive the double-digit growth of the $100m molecular diagnostics segment.

The establishment of 29,000 rural clinics and 2,000 county-level hospitals, urban hospitals, the emergence of private laboratories and greater incidence of heart disease and diabetes will also play a big role in driving China’s $18m point of care diagnostics industry.

The government’s expected upgrade of 74% of the conventional medical equipment used in Chinese hospitals is the reason for continued growth in cardiovascular, medical imaging, surgical products and hospital supplies, the report said.