2026 marks a clear turning point for China’s position in the global clinical trials arena, particularly in oncology. At this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting, Chinese sponsors achieved record visibility, with over 90 oncology studies from Hengrui Pharma alone, alongside oral and late-breaking sessions that drew attention from multinational pharma and investors.
The US and Europe have long dominated ASCO participation; however, the pace and scale of China’s involvement are now reshaping the event’s landscape.
China’s role in global oncology clinical research has expanded dramatically. According to GlobalData’s Clinical Trials Intelligence, China was responsible for 25% of global oncology trials with a start date in 2016, rising to 31% by 2018. By 2025, this share surged to 55%, with a preliminary figure of 41.8% in 2026 as ongoing studies are counted. In contrast, the US, which represented 27% of global oncology trials in 2016 and 26% in 2018, declined to 14% by 2025 and 20% in 2026. These patterns underscore China’s rise in oncology trials, while the US has seen plateauing or decreasing activity.
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This expansion isn’t limited to sheer volume. Chinese companies and academic centres are increasingly driving later-phase and multi-centre trials, moving beyond the domestic market to sponsor or participate in multinational studies. Leading names such as Sun Yat-sen University and Fudan University now rank among the top global trial sponsors in oncology, with over 1,000 active or recent studies. These figures rival the largest Western cancer centers.
The implications are broad. For global pharma, the clinical trial engine in China is no longer just a source of low-cost recruitment or real-world data. It is rapidly becoming a source of new therapies, proprietary pipelines, and eventual licensure deals for US, European, and Japanese players. Over half of all late-stage oncology licensing transactions tracked this year involved Chinese-origin assets, imposing a marked jump from around 10% just five years ago.
There are also unresolved questions. US and European regulators continue to scrutinise whether studies run exclusively in Chinese populations can support broader global approvals, particularly in diseases where genetics, risk factors, and clinical practice differ. Some industry voices argue that collaboration rather than skepticism will offer the fastest route to breakthrough innovation.
For now, the data is clear. China’s clinical trials ecosystem is expanding rapidly. The country’s sponsors are leading not just in volume of oncology research, but increasingly in the complexity and international relevance of their studies. As this trend continues, global clinical development, as well as the cancer drug pipeline, will look very different by the end of the decade than it did at the start.
