UK Drug Giant AstraZeneca to Invest $15-B in China

British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca said it will invest $15 billion in China through 2030 to expand its medicines manufacturing and research operations, during a trip by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Beijing, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

China is AstraZeneca’s second-largest market after the United States. (Photo: AstraZeneca)

AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot was part of a delegation of business leaders accompanying Starmer on the visit.

“China has become a critical contributor to scientific innovation, advanced manufacturing, and global public health,” Soriot said in a statement.

China is AstraZeneca’s second-largest market after the United States, where the company has recently invested amid pressure from President Donald Trump.

“This will be our largest investment in China to date,” Soriot said at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, a company spokesperson told AFP.

Starmer’s visit is the first by a British prime minister to China since 2018 and follows a wave of Western leaders seeking a rapprochement with Beijing as they pivot away from an increasingly unpredictable United States.

“AstraZeneca’s expansion and leadership in China will help the British manufacturer continue to grow—supporting thousands of UK jobs,” Starmer said in a statement shared by the company.