Shenzhen boss manufactures medical equipment, overseas sales explode to 17.6 billion

Ask AI · How Mindray Medical Achieves Overseas Breakthroughs Through Localization Strategies?

Reporter | Han Lu Editor | Tan Lu

Li Xiting’s medical devices are selling well overseas.

At the end of March, his controlled company, Mindray Medical, released its financial report, projecting revenue of over 33.2 billion yuan in 2025, with a net profit of 8.4 billion yuan, of which overseas revenue reached 17.65 billion yuan, accounting for more than half of total revenue for the first time.

Two weeks ago, Li Xiting’s team at the Shenzhen headquarters hosted a delegation from the Brazilian Ministry of Health to discuss smart hospitals, smart ICUs, and other topics.

Last year, Mindray’s Brazil team secured a large order from a high-end teaching hospital group locally and won a government-led centralized procurement project.

Currently, this Chinese medical device giant sells products to more than 190 countries and regions.

Li Xiting once made a “military order,” aiming for overseas revenue to account for more than 70% by 2030.

With the current momentum, this goal seems achievable.

“By 2026, our international business is expected to return to rapid growth, with developing countries and European markets leading the way, further increasing the proportion of international business,” the management team expressed optimistically.

Targeting High-End

Li Xiting’s medical equipment has formed a vast portfolio.

Its 33 billion yuan business roughly falls into four categories: in vitro diagnostics (IVD), life information and support (such as ventilators, monitors, etc.), medical imaging equipment, and emerging businesses launched this year, such as minimally invasive medical devices and veterinary medical equipment.

In its early entrepreneurial days, Li Xiting entered grassroots healthcare in China by adopting a rural-to-urban approach with low-cost products, gaining reputation and influence.

In overseas markets, he took a different approach, strengthening localization platform construction and breaking through high-end strategic customer groups.

Taking its largest business, IVD, as an example, in 2025, Li Xiting’s team launched the MT8000 intelligent coagulation line, solving pain points such as interference from sample quality in coagulation testing, with an integrated expert interpretation system that shortens detection times and improves emergency response efficiency.

Mindray’s Eastern Europe team persuaded the Constanta Provincial General Hospital in Romania to replace their original international brand products during promotion, which is the largest testing sample volume institution locally.

After the news broke, hospitals in Croatia, Bulgaria, and other countries followed suit in procurement.

The management team said that to achieve international cooperation, first, core technologies must be fully mastered. Second, value must be created jointly for hospitals, patients, and the healthcare system.

In the past year, Mindray has broken into nearly 300 new high-end overseas clients in the IVD field, with another 180 existing clients purchasing more product lines.

In life information support and medical imaging, they also broke into 210 and 120 new high-end clients respectively.

In 2025, Mindray’s domestic market revenue declined by over 20%, but fortunately, international market revenue grew by more than 10% year-on-year, offsetting domestic downward pressure.

Currently, Mindray’s six major product series—monitoring devices, anesthesia systems, ventilators, defibrillators, hematology, and ultrasound—maintain a top-three global market share, with their product portfolio entering 87 of the top 100 hospitals worldwide.

Deepening Localization

Mindray Medical started early in going abroad; Li Xiting led the team as early as 2000.

Now, Mindray not only sells medical devices but also builds comprehensive medical institution diagnosis and treatment systems, achieving integrated deployment of “equipment + IT + AI”.

Most healthcare institutions worldwide face cost control and reduction pressures. Based on different business types and regional characteristics, Li Xiting has explored various strategies.

The management believes that, given the high aging degree and shortage of medical resources in developed countries, Mindray can provide digital and intelligent solutions.

For example, in Norway, where the population is sparse and home-based chronic disease management is difficult, they promote wearable device solutions to improve monitoring efficiency and reduce healthcare workers’ workload.

European clients have strong professionalism, willingness to pay, and a keen demand for innovative technology and high-quality medical care. Mindray’s digital solutions “hit the mark.”

Taking a high-end hospital in Paris as an example, the team began engaging in 2023, discussing long-term IT integration needs, showcasing its N-series monitoring solutions. Ultimately, the hospital purchased nearly 300 high-end monitoring devices and IT solutions in 2025.

“Globalization isn’t about closure but deeper localization,” Li Xiting believes. Going overseas isn’t just about “exports + channels,” but about doing “localization + services + systems.”

Mindray has established 64 overseas subsidiaries in about 40 countries, with over 3,000 overseas employees, more than 90% of whom are locals.

Meanwhile, it has set up five R&D centers abroad, and local production projects in 11 countries have been launched.

“We will achieve full localization in manufacturing, logistics, clinical services, marketing, and talent development in the future,” the management team stated.

“Except for some product shipments and revenue recognition affected by conflicts in the Middle East, overall international business is progressing smoothly and experiencing rapid growth,” they revealed about the first quarter of this year.

Seeking Incremental Growth

Born in 1951, Li Xiting hails from a rural area in Anhui. He served in the engineering corps, then was admitted to the Physics Department of the University of Science and Technology of China, and later studied in France.

After returning to China, he started as an agent and gradually moved into self-developed equipment manufacturing.

From 2017 to 2023, Mindray’s revenue and net profit growth rates exceeded 20%. However, in 2024, due to shrinking domestic centralized procurement and market demand, Li Xiting’s business declined for two consecutive years.

The product portfolio of main business lines

The company’s market value has fallen from a peak of 600 billion yuan to around 200 billion yuan today. In Forbes’ Singapore Rich List 2025, Li Xiting’s net worth is estimated at $13 billion, ranking fifth.

In 2025, Mindray Medical’s R&D investment reached 3.93B yuan, accounting for 11.8% of total revenue. Many overseas orders were won by Li Xiting’s team through product advantages.

In 2025, the UK’s largest NHS integrated care system replaced its defibrillation equipment, and Mindray’s defibrillator monitors linked with IT systems secured a major order.

Its newly launched Resona A20 ultra-high-end ultrasound system entered top hospitals in Germany, the UK, France, and other countries last year.

“The confidence comes from the core technologies that Mindray has mastered after decades of industry deep cultivation. We are beginning to achieve industry leadership and surpassing others,” the management said. In the future, besides internal R&D and acquisitions, they will strengthen cooperation with leading enterprises.

In January this year, Li Xiting’s US team reached a strategic partnership with Medtronic, extending patient monitoring cooperation from hospital scenarios to outpatient surgical centers in the US.

Last October, Li Xiting initiated the process for a Hong Kong stock IPO.

The company’s cash reserves amount to 17.7 billion yuan, so funding is not an issue. He hopes to convey a long-term strategic direction: “In the next decade, we aim to enter the top 10 global medical device companies.”

“We must intensify investments in global R&D, marketing, localization, supply chain, and talent development,” the management team affirmed.

This year, Li Xiting’s team continues to be busy worldwide.

Image source: Mindray Medical, unless otherwise noted