BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China has become a critical contributor to scientific innovation and advanced manufacturing, as well as a driving force for common prosperity worldwide, Pascal Soriot, CEO of British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, told Xinhua on Friday.

Soriot made the remarks in an interview in Beijing, a day after the firm pledged to invest 15 billion U.S. dollars in China through 2030 to expand medicines manufacturing and R&D facilities.

China's evolving scientific achievements, optimizing opening-up policies and steadfast support for international collaboration have fueled the firm's continued confidence and investment in the Chinese economy, Soriot said.

"In the last five to six years, China has become a fundamental part of innovation in global pharmaceuticals," Soriot said, adding that this investment marks a new chapter for AstraZeneca in China and will strengthen its contribution to China's high-quality development.

In addition to the firm's strategic R&D centers in Beijing and Shanghai, the investment will further expand its existing manufacturing facilities in Beijing and in east China's Wuxi, Taizhou and Qingdao, along with the establishment of two new plants focusing on cell therapies and radioconjugates, the latter being a new modality for cancer treatment.

These investments will grow AstraZeneca's highly skilled workforce in China to more than 20,000 and create thousands of additional jobs across the healthcare ecosystem, the company said.

China is AstraZeneca's second-largest market and a strategic hub for global innovation, supplying its medicines to more than 70 markets. Since entering China in 1993, the company has introduced more than 40 innovative medicines, covering therapeutic areas including oncology, respiratory diseases, rare diseases, as well as vaccines and immunology.

In 2024, the firm announced to invest 475 million U.S. dollars in its Wuxi factory, followed by an investment of 2.5 billion dollars in Beijing under an agreement signed in 2025, spanning the next five years.

China has encouraged global business leaders to come to China, invest in China and support the common prosperity agenda, and AstraZeneca is honored to respond to this call by contributing to the global development of life sciences, Soriot said.

"Investing for patients in China is also investing in innovation, manufacturing and the export of these medicines to the rest of the world," he added.

As a member of the delegation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ongoing visit to China, Soriot reaffirmed his optimism about China's future development and bilateral cooperation prospects between the two countries.

Beyond the life sciences sector, there is also enormous potential for collaboration in artificial intelligence, green energy and many other fields, Soriot said.

"We want to collaborate with Chinese companies, and we also welcome competition, as it leads to more products that benefit patients around the world," he added.