In 2005, China exported medical products worth US$13.8 billion, up 28.1 percent over the previous year, and imported medical products totaling US$11.84 billion, up 18.5 percent, the Ministry of Commerce reports.

China exported US$12.97 billion worth of western medicine, including bulk pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical finished products, medical appliances and surgical dressing, which accounted for 94 percent of its total medicine export over the year, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the export volume of bulk pharmaceuticals made up 57.3 percent of China's medicine export, reaching US$7.9 billion, and that of medical equipment made up 26.7 percent, reaching US$3.68 billion.

China's export of biochemical medicine leaped 50.8 percent to 480 million dollars over the year, the fastest growth among all kinds of western medicine export.

In 2005, the country also exported Chinese medicine worth US$830 million, including plant extracts of US$290 million, up 31.2 percent year-on-year, statistics show.