On July 29, the selection and commendation ceremony for the 6th Outstanding Builders of the Cause of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics among Personnel in the Non-public Economic Sector was held in Beijing. Thanks to his firm political conviction, outstanding corporate leadership, and remarkable contributions to advancing the development of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry and rural revitalization, Geng Funeng, Chairman of Good Doctor Group, was awarded the title of Outstanding Builder of the Cause of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics among Personnel in the Non-public Economic Sector.

This selection campaign is jointly organized by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. It aims to recognize outstanding individuals from the non-public economy who have made remarkable contributions to economic and social advancement, scientific and technological innovation, and social responsibility fulfillment. A total of 100 outstanding builders were selected this time, and Geng Funeng was honored as a representative of the pharmaceutical industry.

The national selection and commendation program was launched in 2004. The second to fifth sessions were held in 2006, 2009, 2014 and 2019 respectively. The sixth commendation event comes six years after the previous round.

Since founding Good Doctor Group and the Good Doctor brand, Geng Funeng has adhered to the political philosophy of following the Party’s guidance. Guided by the corporate development tenet of satisfying employees, customers, local residents, governments and investors, he has led the enterprise toward sustained growth.

Under his leadership, Good Doctor Group has been listed among China’s Top 100 Pharmaceutical Industrial Enterprises for 14 consecutive years. It has grown into a large integrated industrial conglomerate focusing on biomedicine, integrating research, production and trade. The Group’s business covers pharmaceutical manufacturing, pharmaceutical distribution, R&D, big health industry, medical services and modern agricultural product processing. It owns 37 wholly-owned subsidiaries, 14 GMP-certified manufacturing plants and one internet medical platform company, with nationwide operations and a workforce of over 20,000 employees.

As an active promoter of the TCM industry, Chairman Geng Funeng put forward the Four Questions on Traditional Chinese Medicine. He is committed to fostering new productive forces within TCM and advancing high-quality development of the sector. Under his leadership, the company has established research platforms including the National Enterprise Technology Center. It has launched 13 innovative drug projects and 12 generic drug projects, carried out industry-university-research cooperation with multiple renowned universities, and undertaken more than 100 national, provincial and ministerial R&D and innovation projects. In the past three years, the enterprise has obtained four clinical approvals for original Class 1 new drugs.

Furthermore, Chairman Geng founded the Good Doctor Cloud Medical Internet Hospital Platform. Guided by the mission of fully empowering grassroots medical care, the platform integrates high-quality medical resources and enables the downward flow of premium medical services via internet technology. It has served hundreds of thousands of grassroots clinics and pharmacies and greatly improved the capacity of primary medical services.

Starting from 1996, Geng Funeng led the enterprise to set up operations in Butuo County, Liangshan Prefecture, embarking on a 29-year journey of industrial poverty alleviation. The company promoted the cultivation of monkshood, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, in Yi-inhabited mountainous areas of Daliangshan to support poverty elimination and rural revitalization. The Group joined the national poverty alleviation drive and the Ten-Thousand Enterprises Assisting Ten-Thousand Villages initiative in 2014, and participated in the Ten-Thousand Enterprises Revitalizing Ten-Thousand Villages campaign starting in 2020.

Drawing on local resources in Liangshan and driven by scientific and technological innovation, the enterprise developed characteristic medicinal crop cultivation and built a full industrial chain. Adopting the operation model of Enterprise + Party Branch + Cooperative + Planting Base + Farmers, it develops five major medicinal varieties. In 2024, the enterprise supported medicinal herb cultivation covering 33,800 mu across nine counties in Liangshan Prefecture, Sichuan Province, with a nationwide planting area reaching 65,400 mu. The Group invested 110 million yuan to build a modern deep processing plant for Chinese medicinal materials, enabling local processing of raw herbs. The initiative has helped more than 147,000 farm households increase income and laid a solid industrial foundation for rural revitalization.

In addition, the enterprise actively engages in public welfare including student aid and disaster relief. Geng Funeng is a recipient of the National Advanced Individual in Poverty Alleviation and the Dedication Award of the National Poverty Alleviation Award. His practices were selected as one of the first batch of outstanding cases under the Ten-Thousand Enterprises Revitalizing Ten-Thousand Villages campaign. He has also been honored as a National Advanced Individual from the Private Sector in COVID-19 Response and winner of the 11th China Charity Award.

“This represents the highest recognition for people in the non-public economy and the greatest honor for private entrepreneurs. I am truly delighted,” Geng Funeng said excitedly at the commendation ceremony. “Traditional Chinese medicine requires inheritance as well as innovation rooted in its traditions. I will lead the enterprise to strengthen scientific and technological innovation, continuously achieve breakthroughs in TCM research and development, promote TCM to thrive and go global.”