President Huang Guangyu of the Hongkan Medical Research Institute and Chairman Yang Zexin of Fanghua International Holding exchange and pose for a group photo.
On February 25, 2026, a strategic cooperation signing ceremony between the Macau Hongkan Medical Research Institute and Fanghua International Holding (Guangdong) Co., Ltd. was held in Guangzhou. Leveraging Macau's unique "One Country, Two Systems" framework, the policy dividends of Qin-Macau integration, and its role as a window for East-West cultural exchange, the two parties will jointly focus on three core strategic directions: establishing full-chain services for functional food exports, empowering products with Chinese health culture for global markets, and facilitating the international transfer of TCM food-medicine homology research outcomes. The collaboration aims to build an integrated export platform covering R&D, certification, communication, and distribution channels, thereby promoting the two-way global expansion of high-quality Chinese health products and health culture, and setting a new international benchmark for the Greater Bay Area's health industry.
Based in Macau, the Macau Hongkan Medical Research Institute is deeply engaged in medical research, the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), health product R&D, and the development of international communication systems. The Institute has long been committed to supporting industrial upgrading through scientific research and empowering brand globalization through cultural dissemination. It serves as a vital research and communication platform for integrating Macau's health industry into the national "1+4" development strategy and connecting with Portuguese‑speaking countries and global markets. Fanghua International Holding (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., on the other hand, is a comprehensive enterprise that integrates biotech R&D, health product manufacturing, global supply chain management, and cross‑border trade. Leveraging its affiliated Institute of Life Sciences and international production and delivery systems, the company specializes in the commercialization and global operationalization of health products. With a broad product portfolio covering diverse domestic and international markets, Fanghua possesses mature capabilities in industrial transformation and global market expansion.
This partnership is closely aligned with Macau's core mission of providing export services for functional foods. Both parties will integrate their complementary strengths to establish a full‑chain service system encompassing research and development, regulatory compliance and certification, clinical validation, brand incubation, and global distribution. Leveraging Macau's non‑pharmaceutical certification framework, the policy advantages of the Hengqin‑Macau In‑Depth Cooperation Zone, and its alignment with international regulatory standards, the collaboration will focus on key product categories including food‑medicine homology, fermented botanicals, fortified nutrition, and special dietary foods. Professional services will be offered in areas such as formulation optimization, efficacy validation, standard setting, and cross‑border registration and filing. These efforts are designed to address the critical challenges faced by Chinese health enterprises in achieving compliance, obtaining international certification, building brand trust, and securing market access. By doing so, the partnership will enable premium products to enter major markets – including Portuguese‑speaking countries, ASEAN, Europe, and the US – under a "Made in Macau, Certified by Macau, Endorsed by Macau" international identity, ultimately establishing a benchmark model for functional food exports from Macau.
In the area of culturally empowered health product globalization, both parties will draw upon the rich heritage of Chinese wellness culture, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) philosophy, and age‑old dietary wisdom to build a global expression framework that positions products as the vehicle, culture as the soul, and communication as the bridge. The Macau Hongkan Medical Research Institute will leverage its expertise in international communication and cultural curation to integrate Chinese health concepts, intangible cultural heritage dietary techniques, and Eastern health aesthetics into every stage of product development – from R&D and packaging design to brand storytelling and overseas marketing. Through multilingual content dissemination, participation in international trade fairs, cross‑border new media presence, and overseas cultural experience events, the Institute will effectively convey the cultural narratives embedded in Chinese health products. This approach ensures that product expansion and cultural outreach move forward in synergy, thereby enhancing the international brand equity and cultural influence of Chinese health products in global markets.
At the signing ceremony, Liao Weidong, the representative of the Macau Hongkan Medical Research Institute, noted that Macau – as a critical gateway connecting Mainland China with the global community – possesses irreplaceable geographic and institutional advantages for the internationalization of the health industry and cultural exports. He stated that the Institute will take this partnership as an opportunity to fully leverage its dual‑driven capabilities in scientific research and cultural communication. Together with Fanghua International, the Institute aims to establish Macau as the strategic origin, service hub, and cultural dissemination center for functional food exports. This initiative will contribute to the high‑quality development of the Qin‑Macau health industry, while also serving the nation's Healthy China strategy and its cultural power agenda.
At the signing ceremony, Yang Zexin, representative of Fanghua International Holding (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., reaffirmed the company's commitment to its vision of "sharing China's health technology and cultural achievements with the world." He emphasized that this strategic partnership with the Macau Hongkan Medical Research Institute represents a significant milestone in the company's efforts to deepen globalization and empower industrial exports. Looking ahead, Fanghua will leverage the Macau platform to strengthen R&D investment and cultural empowerment, driving more high‑quality functional foods and health products into global markets. Through its industrial strength, the company aims to contribute to the rise of Chinese health brands, while supporting the coordinated development and internationalization of the health industry across the Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area.
This signing represents an important practical initiative that demonstrates the deep integration of research institutions with industrial enterprises, and the effective synergy between Macau's unique strengths and the abundant resources of the Chinese mainland. Through a long‑term and stable strategic partnership, both parties will continue to deepen their engagement in functional food export services and culturally empowered health industry development. They will work together to establish a seamless closed loop that spans research, industry, culture, and global markets, while cultivating internationally competitive health product clusters and compelling cultural IP. This collaboration is poised to inject fresh momentum into the high‑quality global expansion of China's health industry and the international dissemination of Chinese health culture, thereby opening a new chapter in the internationalization of the health industry in Macau.
This article is reproduced from the official WeChat account: Hongkan Talk.
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Author’s Note: The material for this article is sourced from Hongkan Talk. The event described took place on February 25, 2026, in Guangzhou, Guangdong.