AstraZeneca, one of the world's largest multinational pharmaceutical companies, opened its northern China headquarters in Beijing at the Healthcare Industry Summit on Friday.

The new headquarters is located in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area in Beijing's southeastern suburb. According to Leon Wang, executive vice president, international and China president of AstraZeneca, the Beijing headquarters will oversee the company's operation, management, and marketing in northern and northeastern China.

Along with the headquarters, the Community Intelligence Healthcare Innovation Center, the Beijing International Life Science Innovation Campus and the AstraZeneca Global R&D China Beijing Office will also be established in the development area, Wang said.

"AstraZeneca sees in China a very open and collaborative environment for business and welcoming policies in terms of supporting international development," Michael Lai, general manager of AstraZeneca China, said in an interview after the event. "We also see great opportunities for multinational companies to partner with local companies, so I think all of these make a very exciting environment for multinationals to work in China and to build products for China and also for the global markets."

During the opening ceremony, the Community Intelligence Healthcare Innovation Center signed cooperation agreements with 17 companies on developing solutions for smart healthcare, innovative medicine, early screenings, and the holistic disease management.