Not a rickshaw in sight – Dr Paul Rice, CDIO, reflects on trip to Beijing
- Published:
-
September 10, 2026
I recently had the privilege of joining the inaugural NICS study visit to Beijing, alongside colleagues from the Departments of Health, Economy, Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs, and the Executive Office. We were warmly hosted by the Northern Ireland Mission team, led by Kerry Curran, Jia Na and Chen Mengyin.
Having travelled in south-east Asia before, I still wasn’t prepared for the scale and modernity of Beijing’s central business district, or the near-total absence of older vehicles on the roads. It was a useful prompt to re-examine some assumptions.
Our packed five-day schedule included engagement with Chinese counterparts across government, healthcare, and innovation sectors spanning life sciences, transportation, robotics, AI, advanced manufacturing and green energy.
At the Zhongguancun Technology Exhibition Centre, we saw striking advances in robotics, including a robotic band capable of playing music with convincing human flourishes. At the National Academy of Governance, four professors set out the economic and social progress achieved through successive five-year plans, including growth in life expectancy, universal healthcare coverage, and green technology deployment.
For DAERA colleagues, there was clear relevance in strengthening agri-food trade links and improving awareness among Chinese visitors of import rules for food products. Knowledge exchange on managing blue-green algae in Lake Taihu also offered useful insights for our own work on Lough Neagh.
For DfE, visits including the Beijing Automotive Group’s New Energy Exhibition Centre highlighted the pace of EV development, visibly reflected in Beijing’s traffic.
From a digital health perspective, the ubiquity of mobile technology in Chinese daily life offers an interesting comparison point, though our own investment in joined-up patient information systems, including the MyCare App, puts us in a strong position. There’s clear potential for shared learning as both systems look to integrate care for ageing populations with complex needs.
It would be remiss not to acknowledge the scale of surveillance culture in China, and the ethical tensions this raises around individual freedom and economic growth. It was also a difficult week to represent Northern Ireland internationally given the concurrent, deeply concerning reports of racially motivated attacks at home.
An unexpected benefit of the trip was the chance to learn from colleagues across NICS departments, and to reflect together on how a very different system could challenge our assumptions and prompt fresh thinking. Despite our differences, shared values around family, connection and cultural heritage stood out. Our meeting with the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries reinforced the potential to build on educational partnerships and sister city relationships for mutual benefit.
I’d strongly recommend a visit of this kind, and I’m already following up with contacts in digital health to explore practical next steps that could benefit Northern Ireland’s health and care system and wider innovation agenda.
Dr Paul Rice, BA, MSc, PhD, MPLA, PgDip, FBCS
Page last updated: 10 September 2026