President Hu Jintao visits the production site of medicine (photograph by Yu Xianyun)

            
                               President Hu Jintao attends the production display and listens to Xu Jingren's (third left)
                                                                        introduction (photograph by Yu Xianyun)

            
                                         President Hu Jintao encourages Xu Haoyu (first right) to further improve
                                                         the business of Company (photograph by Yu Xianyun)


President Hu Jintao visited Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, which is located in his hometown. He was accompanied by Luo Zhijun, Party Secretary-General of Jiangsu, and Li Xueyong, Governor of Jiangsu Province.

He came with little pompous ceremony in a cold and rainy day. President Hu Jintao impressed his locals with his amiable and simple style. It was his first visit to the land that nurtured him since 34 years before. Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group was among the President's first stop. He looked and inquired about the conditions and expressed his care for the development of his hometown.

Hu Jintao also viewed the display of the Company's growth and innovative products in the hall of Freeze Dry Powder No.2 Workshop, which represented the highest of pharmaceutical technology. Xu Jingren said that ten years since the 16th Party Congress, the production and sales of the Company grew by 8 times, with tax and profit up by 5.5 times; by the end of the 12th Five-Year Program, the Company would reach a scale of 50 billion yuan. Hu Jintao praised with nod on hearing such a remarkable achievement of the Company.

Out of the intense love for his local people, Hu Jintao had been following the development of Taizhou, and Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group was no strange to him. Every year when he attended the review of government report by Jiangsu delegate, he would meet Xu Jingren and inquired about the latest development of the Company. He expressed his caring and appreciation to Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, which was very inspiring to the Company.

Xu Jingren told President Hu Jintao that Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group's products were of very sound quality. The Company has won champions for prizes in QC Team Results for eight consecutive years. The President said that quality must be ensured as medicines concerned people's health and life. He appreciated the fact that the Company did not follow the path of diverse development and instead concentrated in pharmaceutical industry. "There is huge potential for pharmaceutical industry. If the Company can produce good medicine and improve technology, there will surely be brighter future", he said.

The No.2 Workshop of Freeze Dry Powder that cost two hundred million yuan was designed in accordance with EU GMP standards. Most of the equipment was import, in particular, the automatic cyclic system for entry and exit of raw material was among the first to be imported in China, which enabled bacteria-free transfer of production automation, reaching the highest standard of bacteria-free technology. The workshop produced over 30 million products, with sales revenue hitting 1.8 billion.

The workshop was busy. Bottles of freeze dry powder were quickly and accurately packaged by machine hands. The modern streamline impressed the President. Learnt that the workshop could produce 12 dosage forms and was producing Pantoprazole Sodium for Injection, which had a 30% market share, the President was glad with nod.

Back in the hall, the President shook hands with senior leaders of the Company, and he said: "medicine production concerns public health. A pharmaceutical company must guarantee quality of product and stress research and development so that the general public can get reliable and safe medicines." Xu Jingren replied that Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group would surely work harder to further improve the Company so as not to let anyone down.

President Hu Jintao was seen off by workers of the workshop before boarding the vehicle. He shook hands with them and had picture taken with them.

Li Zhanshu, Secretary-General of the Secretary of Chinese Communist Party Central, and other leaders from the Party Central also accompanied the President's visit.