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China Last Week – How China Suppliers Are Helping US Fight Coronavirus

Hello, I'm Joe Dube. Welcome to China Last Week!

Last week marked the end of a challenging Q1 for global equities with the S&P 500 declining -19.6% year-to-date and MSCI China A Index down -9%. In contrast, one of the few positive areas was China Healthcare, with the MSCI China All Shares Healthcare index returning a positive 2.2%. 

A spike in demand for healthcare services drove the outperformance of the China Healthcare sector over this period. This demand primarily stemmed from the domestic market as the coronavirus started to spread, but is now coming from around the world as more countries report outbreaks. 

One company with the China healthcare space to highlight is Shenzhen Mindray, a medical supply company, substantially expanded its international market when it secured FDA approval and a deal to supply ventilators to the United States in late March. It quickly shifted distribution away from Mainland China, where the virus is mostly under control, to countries like the USA and Italy. 

Similarly, Jiangsu Yuyue, another Chinese medical company, has also obtained Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA for ventilator products on April 1st;  These medical supplies provided by Chinese companies will ease the shortage here in the states.  

Last week, China donated 1,000 ventilators to help coronavirus-stricken New York. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo gave special thanks to Alibaba co-founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai for saving lives with their generous donation.   

Now I turn to my colleague Xiabing Su, who brings us a story that comes from close to home for us. Over to you, Xiaobing. 

Xiabing: Thank you, Joe. These past few weeks, we’ve shared tips for surviving quarantine and brought you updates on life on the ground in Wuhan. Today I have a story from Englewood New Jersey and my colleague Lena Jiao’s family. 

When Lena’s brother Danny first heard the news of the outbreak in Wuhan, he asked his family and friends to donate medical supplies to frontline healthcare workers in Wuhan. 

As the virus spread, he turned his attention back home and shifted the donation network to hospitals in our area. 

Now he is donating masks and supplies to the hospital around New York and New Jersey. And it’s a whole family operation: 

Here is what Danny told us: 

Danny: Hi guys, earlier this year, I was so concerned for Wuhan that I started organizing a medical supply donation network for healthcare workers on the frontline there. I got my family and friends to pitch in for my birthday back in January. 

I would never have guessed that the network I established would be so desperately needed here in New Jersey too. Today, we donated 20,000 masks to local hospitals. 

While we are devastated by all the people that have gotten sick due to COVID-19, it brings my family and me a lot of pride to know we are doing our part to help healthcare professionals on the front line. 

Xiabing: Thank you, Danny, and the Jiao family. Please tune in next week for the latest updates on China. Many thanks from KraneShares!