West Yorkshire-based IT firm TPP has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement First Chengmei Medical Industry Group in Hainan after the Horsforth company joined Theresa May on her recent trade mission to the Far East.

The signing, which took place in Beijing on 1 Feb, occurred during Theresa May’s official trade mission to China.

Based in the Chinese province of Hainan, First Chengmei Medical Industry Group offers a range of medical, management and construction services. It specialises in medical care, elderly care and financial investment.

The MoU is part of a long-term project for the two companies to work together in order to deliver a bespoke integrated healthcare platform for electronic health records.

Initially focussing on system deployment in two districts in Haikou city before roll-out to the whole of Hainan, the project plans to provide connected care for all citizens of the province.

Dr Hui-Chi Yeh of TPP, said: “We are delighted to have made this first step in signing an agreement with First Chengmei Medical. Hainan is a very advanced province in terms of healthcare and there are great plans in progress to improve healthcare technology for citizens right across the province.”

Founder and CEO of TPP Frank Hester said: “I’m really excited about this project. Our staff love working in China and this looks like it’s going to be another great opportunity for us. First Chengmei Medical are a fantastic partner for us in Hainan and we can’t wait to begin working together on the first phase.”

First Chengmei Medical Industry Group president Zonghua Xu added: “We hope to work with TPP to contribute to fulfilling Hainan’s government policy. The health of the citizens of Hainan is one of the government’s key priorities, as highlighted in the ‘Healthy Hainan 2030 plan’.

“Last year, Hainan Provincial People’s Government also issued a specific national health plan for integration, utilising technology to achieve interoperability across the province and improve the sharing of medical data.

“We plan to work together with TPP to deliver this comprehensive, integrated electronic health record system that can be used across all healthcare settings.”