China plans to allow wholly-owned foreign hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai and seven other cities or regions, the Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday.

Foreign hospitals will be allowed to set up wholly-owned hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Fuzhou in Fujian province, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province as well as the whole island of Hainan, the ministry said in a statement released on its official website.

Such hospitals should not specialize in traditional Chinese medicine, it said.

Specific conditions, requirements, and procedures for establishing such a hospital will be released separately later on, said the statement jointly released with the National Health Commission and the National Medical Products Administration.

The move is part of efforts aimed at expanding opening up in the healthcare sector, attracting foreign investment to promote high-quality development of medical services and better meeting the medical demands of the public, said the statement.

It added that starting on Sunday, foreign-invested enterprises are allowed to research and develop technologies of human stem cell, gene diagnosis and treatment in pilot free trade zones in Beijing, Shanghai and the province of Guangdong, as well as the Hainan Trade Free Port.

They can also apply for market registration and mass production licenses in China for their products and approved products can be used nationwide.

The statement also calls for stepping up services for foreign enterprises who are willing to participate in these trial programs while government departments should strengthen coordination and supervision to detect risks promptly.