BEIJING - Huge demand for upgrading medical devices in Chinese hospitals will spur rapid growth in the market, the Health News, an affiliate newspaper of the Health Ministry, reported Tuesday.

Out of all medical devices in the country's 175,000 health institutions, 60 percent were installed before the mid-1980s, and 15 percent in the 1970s. These need to be replaced with new ones, according a China Med 2013 press conference.

China Med is an annual international exhibition for medical devices.

According to a research report compiled by PharmaLive, a consulting firm, China is expected to overtake Japan as the world's second largest market for medical devices in five to seven years, and to dominate 25 percent of the world market by 2050.

The United States is the world's largest market for medical devices.

The exhibition, scheduled to be held in Beijing from March 28 to 30, is co-organized by the health department of the People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department, China World Trade Center, Huitongxingye International Exhibition Corporation, and Messe Dussedorf China Ltd.